Die Schalmeienklänge tieferer Ausgaben und damit auch tieferer Steuerbelastung mögen ja ganz schön und verlockend tönen. Nur sollte man sich vor Augen halten, was ein solcher Rückzug letztlich bedeutet, vor allem wenn er ganz generell mit einer Laissez-faire-Politik kombiniert wird.
Die USA bröckeln
Es lohnt sich, dazu einen Blick über den grossen Teich zu werfen, in das Land, das von ebendiesen Apologeten des Staatsabbaus als leuchtendes Vorbild gepriesen wird.
Als Augenöffner über die fatalen Folgen mangelnder Investitionen in den USA sehr geeignet ist dieser kurze Beitrag vom 10. Mai auf der Website des Progressive States Network:
«A major new report released this week by the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young revealed shocking statistics on the state of transit infrastructure in the U.S., including:
* 83 percent of the nation's transportation infrasturcture is not capable of meeting the nation's needs over the next 10 years.
* 97 percent of roads, bridges and tunnels, and 88 percent of transit/rail systems will require at least moderate improvement.
* Chicago alone needs $6 billion to bring its subways into good repair. Rehabilitation of the Tappan Zee Bridge north of New York City will cost as much as $14.5 billion.
* There is a $1.6 trillion deficit in needed infrastructure spending through 2010 for repairs and maintanence.
A Threat to Economic Growth
Beyond the inconvenience of longer commute times due to poor upkeep of roads and transit systems, these numbers signal real economic trouble. The loss in time and productivity will slow economic growth, drive job losses, and result in the U.S. becoming less economically competitive globally. Around the world, our economic competitors are investing heavily in infrastructure to strengthen their economies, yet the U.S is spending less than 1 percent of its GDP on infrastructure. Contrast that with India, which spends 3.5 percent on infrastructure, or China, which spends 9 percent of its gross domestic product on infrastructure in its quest for economic growth. The U.S. infrastructure neglect is not limited just to transit. In order to comply with safe drinking water regulations, the U.S. must spend ten times its current budget for replacing aging systems. The power grids are also a mess and poor transmission networks are resulting in loss of electricity and extremely inefficient power delivery.
The False Promise of Privatization
The report emphasizes that the recent hype around privatization of public assets like roads won't solve the problem -- and could make it worse. Another new report released this week, also highlights how states have been wasting taxpayer money by outsourcing and experimenting with other forms of privatization that have just added to costs.
Looking Forward There is simply no way around it -- the current level of infrastructure investment cannot sustain current economic activity, let alone allow our states to grow competitively in the global economy. Any further delay investing in infrastructure will only result in much greater physical repair costs and even greater costs from job losses. The first step is facing up to the need for new revenue. The reality is that the gas tax, when adjusted to inflation, is half of what it was in the 1960s. Road tolls aren't paying enough for overall infrastructure upkeep and other revenues are not making up the slack. New revenues need to be combined with better planning to reduce road congestion and promote more efficient public transit.»
Erschreckend. Die USA scheinen je länger je mehr zu einem ökonomischen Papiertiger zu verkommen.
Diesen Fehler nicht nachmachen
Wenn man sich die Folgen für die Bevölkerung ausmalt, dann ist zu hoffen, dass sich die Hiesigen mit Händen und Füssen gegen die Privatisierung unserer Wasserversorgung oder der lokalen Übertragungsnetze (im Besitz der Elektrizitätsgenossenschaft Weiach) zur Wehr setzen und dafür einsetzen, dass die nötigen Investitionen rechtzeitig erfolgen.
Denn: Jeden Fehler der Amerikaner müssen wir ja nun wirklich nicht nachmachen. Schon gar nicht, wenn er solch katastrophale Folgen zeitigt.
Quelle
- J. Mijin Cha: U.S. Infrastructure. An Economic Disaster Waiting to Happen. From: Progressive States Network, May 10, 2007.
[Veröffentlicht am 1.06.2007]
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