It's time to fix our crumbling country

I don't have the skills to patch a street. I definitely don't have the equipment or money in my usually barren checking account to repair a street but with the steadily crumbling state of our country's infrastructure it isn't exactly a far off nightmare that soon residents will be responsible for maintaining and improving our roadways -- and that doesn't mean paying money to have a big time construction company to do the work. It means that we'll be dragging a shovel and a bucket out in front of our respective houses and fixing our roads, highways and streets the old school way.

But why is that?

It's mainly because states have less funding available to maintain and improve our infrastructure.

But why do the states have less money to pay for upkeep and improvements to our highways and other infrastructure items?

Because the states along with certain local governments are busy trying to scrape together funding for billion dollar stadiums used ten days per year (think Minnesota Vikings and billionaire owner Zygi Wilf) and they have been given less funding by the federal government.

But why doesn't the federal government have enough money to provide money to the states to distribute to individual cities to maintain local infrastructure?

Skyrocketing unemployment. A decade fighting two wars. Wasteful military spending. Money shipped overseas to save aspects of other countries who may not exactly deserve saving. Take your pick.

I'm not advocating that we cut off all foreign aide. Natural disasters happen and those people are merely victims of their surroundings. Nobody deserves to die after their country has deen decimated by a tsunami, earthquake or drought but, while it seems selfish to say, it may be time to take a second look at how we are spending money overseas. It is definitely time to examine military spending. Shut down top-secret programs because if I don't know what the money is being spent on it probably isn't necessary spending. Yeah, we still need to defend our country against real or perceived evils which may threaten our friends and neighbors either directly or indirectly. However, it needs to be done on a budget. Shit, I'd like to have new siding on my house but a coat of paint will give the exterior a nice facelift. I'm choosing that route because it saves money and I have to live within my means. I'd like a Mac Mini to set up as a home media center but, again, I have a budget. Money is not infinite. And the money that our country can spend is not infinite either.

It's time to look inward and start taking care of the country that took over 200 years to build up to its current point. It's either that or let it go to shit and sell it to China. There are ways to get these jobs done. There's always prison labor...