‘What are we, a Third World country?’

Former Rep Jim Oberstar

David Crossley, May 16, 11.

“What are we, a Third World country?” former US House Transportation Committee Chair Jim Oberstar asked his audience last Friday in a lecture at the University of Minnesota, according to CityScape, a blog in MinnPost.com:

Oberstar took on both issues — infrastructure and national focus — in his lecture last week. I’m sympathetic to Oberstar’s arguments: That it’s hard to imagine deficit reduction without a recovering economy; and it’s hard to imagine a recovering, competitive economy without an upgrade in infrastructure.

“What happened to the idea that America is more important than individual self-interest?” Oberstar asked his audience.

Indeed, it should be sobering news that the World Economics Forum rates the U.S. infrastructure 23rd best — right between Spain and Chile.

“America, despite its wealth and strength, often seems to be falling apart,” observed the Economist in its April 30-May 6 issue. Despite its huge highways, U.S. traffic congestion is far worse than in Europe. One reason is the absence of high-speed rail, the magazine noted. Even in the most advanced corridor — Boston to Washington — trains average only 70 mph, half the average speed of the dash between Paris and Lyon.