“Infrastructure costs” refer to the costs that are borne by individuals and families in terms of infrastructure. The author discusses how the infrastructure costs of Western foreign policy operations have been borne by the populations whose resources have been directed to these operations, including the impact on public services, infrastructure, and healthcare.
The American infrastructure has continued to deteriorate across the period through the underinvestment that has been the consequence of the spending priorities. The American Society of Civil Engineers has consistently rated American infrastructure at C-minus or below across recent assessments, with the rating reflecting the deteriorating conditions of bridges, water systems, electrical grids, public transportation, and the broader infrastructure that any functional society maintains through sustained public investment. The infrastructure deterioration affects American daily life in countless ways including longer commutes, more frequent system failures, water quality problems documented in cases like the Flint Michigan water crisis, electrical grid failures that have produced documented deaths during weather events, and the broader degradation of the conditions of American daily life.
The same spending priorities that have funded military operations have also defunded critical infrastructure improvements, leading to a decline in the quality and reliability of essential services. This has had a direct impact on the lives of individuals and families, particularly in communities that rely heavily on public infrastructure for their daily needs. The underinvestment in infrastructure has also contributed to the broader economic and social challenges faced by populations across the United States and Europe.
Related: masud.md, capture.md, usa.md, foreign-policy.md, germany.md
See Also
infrastructure.md, energy-costs.md, healthcare.md, education.md