Infrastructure is the basic physical and organizational structure needed for the operation of a society or enterprise ,[1] or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function.[2] It can be generally defined as the set of interconnected structural elements that provide a framework supporting an entire structure of development. It is an important term for judging a country or region's development.
In other words, the mechanisms needed for a society to function, something that's falling apart in America as seen by an excellent piece in 60 Minutes and detailed analysis on the same topic presented by Infrastructure Report Card, an entity created by the ASCE, American Society of Civil Engineers.
Falling apart: America's neglected infrastructure
Ray LaHood: Our infrastructure is on life support right now. That's what we're on.
Few people are more aware of the situation than Ray LaHood, who was secretary of transportation during the first Obama administration, and before that a seven-term Republican congressman from Illinois. He is currently co-chairman of Building America's Future, a bipartisan coalition of current and former elected officials that is urgently pushing for more spending on infrastructure.
Steve Kroft: According to the government, there are 70,000 bridges that have been deemed structurally deficient.
Ray LaHood: Yep.
Steve Kroft: What does that mean?
Ray LaHood: It means that there are bridges that need to be really either replaced or repaired in a very dramatic way.
Steve Kroft: They're dangerous?
Ray LaHood: I don't want to say they're unsafe. But they're dangerous. I would agree with that.
and...The Report Card
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