<story><title>America Is Flint</title><url>http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/opinion/sunday/america-is-flint.html?ref=opinion&amp;_r=0</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>grandalf</author><text>The broader point is that incompetence and corruption plagues institutions (public and private) of all sizes.&lt;p&gt;Regardless of one&amp;#x27;s politics, it&amp;#x27;s critical that we hold our institutions accountable and help them get better over time.&lt;p&gt;This includes our country, our state, our county, our city, our company, our social and professional groups, open source communities, etc.&lt;p&gt;There is a strong human tendency to want to defend organizations we are part of (or rely on) rather than trying to constructively improve them.&lt;p&gt;Flint is an example of institutional failures at multiple levels, but over all the loss of life and suffering pales in comparison to what our failed institutions did in Iraq and around the world, and what they do to our schools all across the country, etc.&lt;p&gt;The more official an organization (government, etc.), the more fancy its facilities (buildings with columns, spires, domes, etc.) the more we must realize its credibility is based on self-perpetuation rather than on tangible, auditable results.&lt;p&gt;There are so many failures happening across the board, and the biggest enemy to progress is the idea that loyalty means keeping quiet.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>rayiner</author><text>Having worked in this area, I can say that &amp;quot;incompetence and corruption&amp;quot; is an intellectually lazy explanation for the problems facing municipal water supplies. The real problem is that water is a municipal utility and municipal rate setting boards set water rates far too low. There is simply not enough money to rip out all the old lead pipe and replace it: &lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;m.huffpost.com&amp;#x2F;us&amp;#x2F;entry&amp;#x2F;clean-water-at-any-rate_b_504263.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;m.huffpost.com&amp;#x2F;us&amp;#x2F;entry&amp;#x2F;clean-water-at-any-rate_b_504...&lt;/a&gt;. It&amp;#x27;s politically untenable for water boards to raise rates, especially since water bills are not progressive (seniors and the poor pay the same rate as rich people).</text></comment>
<story><title>America Is Flint</title><url>http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/opinion/sunday/america-is-flint.html?ref=opinion&amp;_r=0</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>grandalf</author><text>The broader point is that incompetence and corruption plagues institutions (public and private) of all sizes.&lt;p&gt;Regardless of one&amp;#x27;s politics, it&amp;#x27;s critical that we hold our institutions accountable and help them get better over time.&lt;p&gt;This includes our country, our state, our county, our city, our company, our social and professional groups, open source communities, etc.&lt;p&gt;There is a strong human tendency to want to defend organizations we are part of (or rely on) rather than trying to constructively improve them.&lt;p&gt;Flint is an example of institutional failures at multiple levels, but over all the loss of life and suffering pales in comparison to what our failed institutions did in Iraq and around the world, and what they do to our schools all across the country, etc.&lt;p&gt;The more official an organization (government, etc.), the more fancy its facilities (buildings with columns, spires, domes, etc.) the more we must realize its credibility is based on self-perpetuation rather than on tangible, auditable results.&lt;p&gt;There are so many failures happening across the board, and the biggest enemy to progress is the idea that loyalty means keeping quiet.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>craigyk</author><text>I think a major factor is that the US hasn&amp;#x27;t been around for very long and we&amp;#x27;re coming to a point where a lot of infrastructure is coming under need of repair or replacement simultaneously.  In particular instances, this infrastructure degradation has been greatly exacerbated by decisions to save money in the short-term.  My personal opinion is that this is all part of a decades long rightward shift away from &amp;quot;big government&amp;quot; and willingness to pay for proper maintenance of public works.  2008 was a wasted opportunity to combine much needed infrastructure investment with fiscal stimulus.&lt;p&gt;There is no question a lot of work will need to be done over the next decade.  The question is, who will do the work, and how will it get paid for?</text></comment>