Visitor and employee safety, transportation, access, and even historic structures all are being jeopardized by the nearly $12 billion backlog in maintenance work that reaches into nearly every corner, forest, and beach of the National Park System.
Traveler Special Report: Tackling The National Park Service's Maintenance Backlog
Published Date
September 30, 2018
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Comments
Even more alarming, however, than just the maintenance backlog in our parks is the backlog in other infrastructure all across our country. There are problems just as severe in virtually every city, town, county, village, nook and cranny everywhere.
It's almost entirely the result of the Great American Myth that we can somehow have all the facilities and services our little hearts desire without having to require our citizens to pay for them. Countless politicians from councilmembers in the smallest towns, county commissioners everywhere, and members of Congress have managed to be reelected by promising to "cut taxes," or at least promising "I'll never raise your taxes."
I don't believe I've ever heard any candidate for any political position who has had the courage to stand up and proclaim, "Okay, neighbors, you need to vote for me because I'll take a realistic look at our sewage system and roads and will figure out how much more tax money we will need to keep them operating and safe."
Maybe there are some signs of hope out there because here in Utah there is a ballot initiative supported by a whole lot of petition signatures that will increase our gasoline tax to better fund our schools. And there are similar citizen initiatives in some other places this year, as well. Now we'll have to see what happens.
But as long as Americans cling to our Great Entitlement Mentality, and as long as our politicians feed voters desires instead of recognizing and addressing reality, we will continue to let it all deteriorate until our world collapses around us.
Then who will take the blame? Probably not the politicians who caused it all. They'll find someone to blame and will be reelected with more promises to cut taxes.
That's the American Way.
No Lee the problem isn't that the people aren't taxed enough. The problem is that the government spends the money on things it has no business being involved in.
Then vote. Or whine here. Your choice.
I'm a proponent of every bit helps, But nothing short of a Mission 66 scale initiative is going to save these structures. Perhaps when a bridge over a river in Facade National Park collapses and kills some people, Congress will be spurred into real action.
And I agree with ECBuck above. Eliminating the Department of Homeland Security with its over arching bloated Washington and regional offices, and placing most subagencies back where they were prior to 2002 would be a good start. The money saved would probably equate to the cost of Mission 66 in today's dollars. If not, we could downsize the border patrol to pre-1990 levels, that would definitely help. If that doesn't quite balance, we could look to eliminate the White House Office on Religious Pandering.
Elections have consequences. Vote out all Republicans this November. Zinke and all other Trump-appointed swamp creatures must go if the National Parks are to survive.