The Republican Party’s refusal to
invest in America's collapsing infrastructure is a recipe for disaster.
I
love groups with the gumption to take on big tasks and do what needs to be done
— can-do groups that can, and do.
But,
uh-oh, here comes The Little Train That Couldn’t. I’m talking about
Congress.
Since
the earliest days of our US of A, the most basic task of this legislative body
has been to keep our national house in good repair. That requires tending to
roads, bridges, rail systems, airports, school buildings, parks, internet
access, etc.
Yet,
with a toxic mix of anti-government ideology and fiscal foolishness, Republican
members of Congress have recently been blocking every serious proposal to
reinvest in America’s collapsing infrastructure.
That
was no tax-and-spend liberal Democrat talking — it was a penny-pinching
Republican, Bob Corker of
Tennessee. Indeed, it wasn’t that long ago that most Republicans
understood and funded infrastructure — from Abe Lincoln to Teddy Roosevelt to
Dwight Eisenhower, and even Ronald Reagan,
who called such common sense maintenance “an investment in tomorrow that we
must make today.”
Gail Collins, the superbly sensible New York Times columnist,
recently noted that, “In a perfect world, Congress would figure out a serious,
long-term plan to fix bridges, (etc.).” Yes, but I would amend her observation
with this: It shouldn’t take “a perfect world” — even a Congress in a
halfway-mediocre world ought to be able to do that job.
Actually,
thanks to GOP obstinacy, Congress isn’t the Little Train That Couldn’t. It’s
the choo-choo that could, but won’t.
OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is
a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He’s also editor of the
populist newsletter, The Hightower
Lowdown. OtherWords.org