So, which one do you think is a better investment??

before the war......what stopped us from repairing the bridges?

Reason magazine has what I think is a pretty good answer to that question. Minnesota spent millions of tax money building a new stadium for a billionare team owner. Also, congress generally prefers spending money on new stuff because it gets them reelected. There's no glamor in highway maintenance, but building a brand new bridge (even to nowhere) gets politicians back to DC.

The problem isn't unique to Minnesota. If you compare the percentage of bridge deficiencies with taxes raised, you'll find that some of the highest-taxed states also have some of the worst problems with bridge maintenance. Rhode Island is in the top ten when it comes to taxes collected, and has a higher percentage of deficient bridges than any other state. Pennsylvania has taxes higher than 31 other states, and a bridge deficiency rate that is the second worst in the country. New York is number ten in taxes collected, and is one of the worst when it comes to maintenance. In fact, half of the top ten-taxed states are in the bottom ten when to comes to bridge maintenance.

• Jim Peron in ReasonOnline

Oh? OK!..... so the war spending has nothing to do with it. That's what I thought, just checking.

It might be nice if it was that easy, but I don't think it is.

For over 100 years, professional politicians have been committing our collective future wealth to fleetingly popular things such as regime change in third world countries, the futile prohibition of basic human nature, and glamorous "feel good" projects.

As I see it, the status quo benefits the political industry to a far greater degree than it does the citizens, and perpetuates the choke-hold the two party duopoly maintains on our freedoms and our future.

Great. Thanks for the explanation. You help further prove that is has nothing to do with the Iraq war, but just a matter of "business as usual"

That is a pretty dumb graphic. Even if the war wasn't going on, that bridge still would have fallen.

If you want to make the president look bad, at least use something relevant.

Like USAer said....what stopped us from repairing bridges before the war? Hmmmmmmm???

What stopped the repair of bridges before the war? Equally idiotic politicians who are too shortsighted to do their jobs and the morons who elect them. In other words, us.