Water main break in Dimmit County, Texas: Schools closed, businesses closed, and medical services put in danger. A new WPA could have prevented that.

(WPA workers installing a water line in Hebron, Maryland, 1940. Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)

 

On Monday, October 6, 2014, a water main broke in Dimmit County, Texas, forcing schools & businesses to close and also threatening medical services. "The cause of the water main break is being blamed on aging infrastructure." (See "Water returns to Carrizo Springs")

 

During the New Deal, WPA workers installed 655 miles of new water lines in Texas. That's enough water line to extend from Dallas to El Paso.

 

As American infrastructure continues to crumble (we have, for example, an average of 657 water line breaks per day), and as schools, small businesses, and medical services are threatened, the richest 400 Americans have seen their wealth rise to $2.29 trillion and Corporate America is acquiring record profits (see, e.g., "Corporate profits hit record as wages get squeezed"). Also, we spend as much on military operations as almost every other nation on the planet combined (see, e.g., "U.S. Military Spending Dwarfs Rest of World").

Many on the political right say that we're broke and can't afford to do anything. Do you believe them?