The Surge

People in other countries have always marveled at American advancement. Traditionally they have been inspired by American strides in infra-structure and building throughout most of the 20^th century.

The American “surge” is a product of culture. America is a culture of gambling. Most of this construction is designed to merely mitigate the most likely failures. It is seldom engineered for more “worst case’ conditions. Nor does regulation and regulation enforcement encroach. Therefore, America addresses only a bad situation after its occurrence. The American surge is the result of taking short cuts.  The most recent example is Mississippi flooding and levee breeches. Even in the New Orleans area, levees were not augmented until after hurricane Katrina.        

America’s aging infra-structure is in very bad shape. Yet no significant efforts are being made to mitigate the likely disasters that will occur. Bridges, dams, and roadways will fail with massive loss of life. New structures are built with the bare minimum of fail safe engineering.  Profits from the ventures trump these concerns. But in any game, if you take enough risks and play long enough, your winning streak will turn into a wipe out.

American safety in terms of nuclear power is highly suspect. American safety in terms of fresh water is highly suspect. The gas drilling using “Fracking” threatens to join the other contaminants of the major aquifers. The entire American mid section is at risk. It is the bread basket to the world. In the American Congress today politicians are determined to remove even a modicum of regulation safety. Right now they have embarked on removing regulations on food safety.

It is only a matter of time before the American hand of aces turn to deuces. The world will watch with amazement as America overnight joins the Second World from this and other ills.