ABSTRACT
In 2016 the nation faces an infrastructure crisis caused by the lingering effects of the 2008 depression, sluggish GDP growth, and fiscally conservative legislators. We gave examples of how degraded public-works systems and equipment are dangerous. Without the legislative will to invest in capital, a professional administrator's only viable tack is to show empirically the ultimate cost of underinvestment. For example, equipment and vehicles beyond their useful life inevitably incur maintenance and repair costs that are prohibitive. These costs must be reported to legislators with the hope of persuading them to make needed capital investments.
