They protect the cities and the farmland in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta of California and keep salt from the bay out of the drinking water of millions of people. But those levees are deteriorating, experts say, raising the odds of a Katrina-like disaster for the nation's most populous state.
The delta and its maze of levees are high on the list of public infrastructure considered to be subpar. That list--which also includes highways, dams, ports and bridges--is growing as government outlays for repair lose out to budget cutting. The American Society of Civil Engineers, whose 137,000 members are involved in virtually every public works project undertaken in the United States, says that $1.6 trillion must be spent over the next five years to prevent further deterioration. Only $900 billion is now earmarked.
The next time Neo-Cons talk about downsizing government, after throwing Katrina in their face, ask who paid for the road they drive that SUV on and who provides the drinking water to their million dollar house and who carries away the sewage? An outhouse behind a million dollar starter castle?
But maybe they won't. After all, Halliburton and other Bush cronies will get in on the action, pre- or post-disaster. They don't care. They're just ready to take our money. And Bush is, of course, more than willing to payback for their helping him steal the last two elections.
