Day Late, Dollar Short

More than two months after the multiple hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast and destroyed much of the Gulf Coast infrastructure, the New York Times is running a story about the vulnerable infrastructure that can be found around the country.

If you've been reading my blog since January, critical infrastructure deficiencies has been one of the topics I've written about regularly. From the problems with the Hudson River tunnels to the subway system and the frightening complacency among policy makers and citizens alike over the threats to critical infrastructure, we must demand better of our political leadership at all levels of government.

While that last piece was written on July 7, as the Madrid bombing news was being broadcast, it doesn't take a terrorist attack to realize that the country has shortchanged critical infrastructure through neglect or overlooked potential threats. Instead of building bridges to nowhere, critical infrastructure must be secured, modernized, and upgraded.

The problem that has to be overcome in nearly every instance is that disaster preparation and infrastructure improvements are not sexy and are often overlooked by voters and politicians alike. That mindset must be shattered once and for all if we want government to be able to function as we envision and hope that it would in times of crisis.