Now that the Sochi Olympics are behind us, you may feel as though you've had enough of winter, given this year’s record temperatures and snowfall in cities across the country.
This winter weather has destroyed roads across the country. Some cities are running out of salt, and pothole-dodging could be an Olympic sport, while finding places to mound all that snow has been a challenge.
The American Society of Civil Engineers is committed to improving USA public infrastructure.
To achieve that goal, they have issued a failing mark on the condition and performance of the nation’s infrastructure.
ASCE’s Failure to Act economic report series shows the economic consequences of continued underinvestment in our nation’s infrastructure, and the economic gains that could be made by 2020 in terms of GDP, personal disposable income, exports, and jobs if we choose as a country to invest in our communities.
The culminating report presents an overall picture of the economic opportunity associated with infrastructure investment and the cost of failing to fill the investment gap.
Engineers find that with an additional investment of $157 billion a year between now and 2020, the U.S. can eliminate this drag on economic growth and protect:
$3.1 trillion in GDP, almost the equivalent of Germany’s entire GDP
$1.1 trillion in U.S. trade value, equivalent to Mexico’s GDP
3.5 million jobs, more than the jobs created in the U.S. over the previous 22 months
$2.4 trillion in consumer spending, comparable to Brazil’s GDP
$3,100 in annual personal disposable income
Report Card for America's Infrastructure: http://youtu.be/CkiqinYPzXM
http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Infrastructure/Failure_to_Act/ASCE_Fa…