THAT'S THE WAY THE INFRASTRUCTURE CRUMBLES.

The coffee and Adderall must have worked well enough on Friday for the coot to dodder to his pretend Oval Office stage set and offer remarks on the infrastructure appropriation that got through Congress despite objections from his party's Gimme Caucus.  There was the curious incident of the freight railroads in the remarks.  You say there were no remarks about the freight railroads.  That is correct.  Somehow, the freight railroads have managed to replace main tracks from the ballast up or run double tracks through canyons that look like something a coyote should splatter into or replace a viaduct with one capable of handling heavier trains at higher speed.  I suppose it's impolite to note that  "No Federal stimulus funds were appropriated for this project. Your tax dollars go to repairing the damage the trucks cause to Interstate 40. Fifty additional trains mean capacity for up to 5000 additional containers on the rails rather than on the roads" or that "No transportation bill or stimulus money [was] involved. The railroad recycled some spans from a redundant Milwaukee Road high bridge further south."

That's right, somehow freight railroads manage to set money aside to renew their property and keep it productive.  Under the political economy of water, that's probably not possible, even discounting for political affiliation.

Across this country, people have been struck and they — and they’ve been struck by all of the changes that are needed. They’re stuck. They’re angry. They’re sickened by the broken water and sewer systems — polluted water from the faucets, raw sewage in their backyards.

I want you to know: I see you, I hear you. We understand. And I’ve seen and we’ve — understand the damage done in places like Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi.

So, we’ve already announced over $7 billion in clean water funding to states so they can fix and upgrade their aging water systems and sewer systems. It’s going to take some time, but the money is there and they’re getting the money. Our children deserve no less.

We’ve also released an action plan to replace all of our nation’s lead pipes in the next decade.

This is the United States of America, for God’s sake. Everyone in this country should be able to turn on the faucet and drink clean water.

Gosh, why should people turn on the faucet to drink poorly treated water on the taxpayer's dime when they are apparently willing (for the moment) to pay more per gallon for the stuff in bottles than they do for gasoline?

Yes, I'm being outrageous, but the existence of corporate water (sometimes tied up in sweetheart deals between pop companies and college sports) trading at a price in competition with the government-issued water that is ostensibly free ought to tell you that something is amiss, and that using public money to underwrite golf courses in deserts might be a clue that something has gone wrong with the government provision of the mains and sewers, and perhaps the Executive and the Legislative branches ought think about a different approach.  Something like treating the sewers and water mains as the productive assets they are.

Later, he turned to bridges.  We've all been conditioned since childhood to think of bridge tolls as abusive behavior by trolls to the detriment of humble billy goats.  The details of the remarks, though, confirm better than any number of my posts invoking the Strong Towns argument about infrastructure liabilities, exactly how those bridges are liabilities.

My infrastructure law includes a total of $40 billion in funding for bridge improvements. $12.5 billion of that is going replace most — the most economically significant bridges in the country.

These are bridges like — and I’ve seen them — the Brent Spence Bridge connecting Ohio and Kentucky; the I-5 Columbia River Crossing connecting Washington and Oregon; you know, the Blatnik Bridge connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin.

But about two thirds of the bridges in need of repair in this country are considered what they call “off system” because they’re not directly connected to the Interstate Highway System.

These are the bridges that are often overlooked when decisions are being made. But they are essential for small towns, rural towns, farmers to get their products to market, small businesses to be able to serve customers.

These are the bridges that, when they’re closed, shut off deliveries and routes to school, work, and home. They create longer delays for first responders when every second counts.

So, we’ve included $27.5 billion for smaller bridges, including dedicated funding for these “off system” bridges I just described.

And because maintaining these bridges is often the responsibility of counties or towns whose budgets are stretched thin already, we decided to get rid of the requirement that counties or towns share in the cost. The federal government is going to pay for 100 percent of the cost for repairing these small bridges.

Today, we’re releasing the first year of that program, which is $5.5 billion. Five and half billion dollars to states and Tribes to repair and rebuild bridges to make them safer and more usable.

Those "on system" bridges, particularly those spanning major rivers, are logical candidates for tolling (as are the Interstate Highways themselves, but one thing at a time.)

How many of those "off system" bridges have a Works Progress Administration plaque?  That is, those essential bridges were gifts of a previous Uncle Sugar to municipalities that neglected to maintain, or perhaps were never capable of supporting the taxable activity to maintain, those bridges from the beginning.  It has been enough years since the creation of the Department of Transportation that some of their "off system" projects, kindly written into various porkulus bills over the years, are now worn out and due for replacement.

No doubt, once the Army Corps of Engineers verifies that the projects will not impair navigation, and the Environmental Protection Agency determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the fish and fowl will not be adversely affected, there will be new bridges, and shiny new plaques, some of which may have enough room for "Joseph R. Biden, President" among the personages and agencies being recognized, but nowhere will there be a local politician musing, "where do I find the money to keep it in a state of good repair?"

That can, if you will, is being kicked down the yellow brick road to future Federal taxpayers.