Nevada's infrastructure report card begs logic of further tax cuts

Nevada is crumbling - along with America - as the anti-government/anti-tax zealots would have us believe that ‘starving’ the beast (government) is the answer all of America’s ills. Unfortunately, they don’t support their theories with any examples of how the free and unfettered market has ever seen it as their mandate or duty to create such things as interstate highway systems - not to mention maintain or repair them.

“The takeover of regulatory agencies by special interests and anti-government ideologues was an assault on public protections.”

It’s time to ask Sharron Angle how she plans to address this critical need while lowering taxes - and banishing the federal agencies and regulations that apply to our national infrastructure.

Nevada - and America - needs to grow up and realize that a government exists to promote and maintain the common good, above and beyond what we could ever achieve individually. Taxes are the price we pay - as a civilized country - towards this goal.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has a great website devoted to informing Americans about the critical dangers posed by an infrastructure that increasingly resembles a developing nation rather than a developed one.

• 16% of Nevada’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
• There are 165 high hazard dams in Nevada. A high hazard dam is defined as a dam whose failure would cause a loss of life and significant property damage.
• 27 of Nevada’s 744 dams are in need of rehabilitation to meet applicable state dam safety standards.
• 35% of high hazard dams in Nevada have no emergency action plan (EAP). An EAP is a predetermined plan of action to be taken including roles, responsibilities and procedures for surveillance, notification and evacuation to reduce the potential for loss of life and property damage in an area affected by a failure or mis-operation of a dam.
• Nevada’s drinking water infrastructure needs an investment of $912 million over the next 20 years.
• Nevada ranked 42^nd in the quantity of hazardous waste produced and 39^th in the total number of hazardous waste producers.
• Nevada reported an unmet need of $8 million for its state public outdoor recreation facilities and parkland acquisition.
• 13% of Nevada’s roads are in poor or mediocre condition.
• 59% of Nevada’s major urban highways are congested.
• Vehicle travel on Nevada’s highways increased 117% from 1990 to 2007.
• Nevada’s transportation department has identified 10 mega projects costing an estimated $4.8 billion that need to be completed by 2015 to avoid gridlock in urban areas.
• Nevada has $246 million in wastewater infrastructure needs.

For further reading about how America has been crippled by a deliberate conservative campaign to undermine and starve our critical regulatory environment, go to Government Is Good.

*Survey of the state’s ASCE members conducted in September 2008

 

Deficient Bridge Report, Federal Highway Administration, 2008.

National Inventory of Dams, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2008.

Drinking Water Needs Survey and Assessment, Environmental Protection Agency, 2003.

National Biennial RCRA Hazardous Waste Report, Environmental Protection Agency, 2007.

2007 Annual Report, Land and Water Conservation Fund State Assistance Program, National Park Service.

TRIP Fact Sheet, March 2009.

Grading the States ’08: A Management Report Card, Government Performance Project, Governing Magazine.

Clean Water Needs Survey, Environmental Protection Agency, 2004.



Comments

[bluelyon]

A-yep. And you can't get a single Nevada politician (of any party) to talk about raising tax revenue. Sandoval wants to cut, and Rory tells us that we can do all of his stuff without raising taxes and going for public/private cooperation. Both tactics (Sandoval and Reid) are conservative ideas. I despair.

Will a real Democrat please stand up?

[bluelyon]

I meant to write: "public/private partnerships" ---PPP (or as I say PPPT!!!)