California’s roads are in dire shape
By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times
In more than four decades as a top transportation planner in California, Will Kempton says the state’s roads have never been in as bad condition as they are right now.
Kempton, 69, who is retiring as executive director of the advocacy group Transportation California, said he is “frustrated and disappointed” that California has failed for decades to agree on a plan to pay for a $136-billion backlog of repairs on state highways and local roads. Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders said they will take another crack at reaching a deal during the next two months, which Kempton said is welcome news.
“This is the worst I have seen,” he said of street conditions in California.
At a Federal level, we seem to be cutting funding for roads. At a State level, we seem to be cutting funding for roads, at a County level, we seem to be only focused on a random roundabout here and there and on a local level, we seem to be only concerned with bike trails.
There is a whole lot of not paying attention to what actually needs to be done.
At all levels, there seems to be the recognition that we don’t have enough money to pay for the entire government to retire with more pay than they have made during their work career, better benefits than Congress and unlimited trickery to increase the amount of money a government employee receives when they stop going to work.
There is no place where this mathematics works. The infrastructure is falling apart and the retirement problem will most assuredly leave the state with no money whatsoever. Government retirees will also leave the state, with their money. This must be addressed, and soon.