Today in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Republican, proposed that the federal government pay for and create a system of highways that would crisscross the country and provide easy movement for the armed forces in case of need.
We were in the Cold War, almost two years after fighting ceased in the Korean Conflict. The Interstate Highway system was passed and the next couple of decades saw the construction of one of the best ways in which our commerce and economy thrived.
Having the interstate allowed companies to transport goods and supplies quicker and with less cost than regular travel. If you have an doubts about the value of that system, drive from Miami to Jacksonville only using US 1. Thank you no.
That system was proposed sixty years ago. What are we doing today that will help commerce and still be as vital in 2072?
We are not repairing the infrastructure we have; how will we cope when more bridges fail?
I hear talk of privatization, states which have sold or rented tollways; we tried that way once.
I hear talk of reducing government and governmental services. Scranton just slashed pay for police and firefighters to minimum wage, no negotiation, just a unilateral cut in pay. Do we really want a society in which these functions are private? Remember the reports the last couple of years about a fire department that simply allowed houses to burn because the homeowners had not paid the private company. If you rent, what about depending on your landlord to pay that fee? Societies have been there before.
We, as a society, created certain occupations and facilities as governmental functions because that was what worked best for all of us.
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