This story from Pasadena, California, encapsulates much of our current situation. Touching on the theme of our crumbling infrastructure, a stoplight in Pasadena goes out, a frequent occurrence. Traffic backs up for a mile, taking 30 minutes to get through, as our transportation investments go somewhere other than moving cars.
A citizen takes up the baton (the orange flag) and starts directing traffic, rebuilding from the bottom up. Citizen clears up the intersection in an efficient 10 minutes of work.
Not surprisingly, our good citizen gets a ticket for doing the job the police won't do themselves. The police then respond by...not directing traffic.
"Not a priority," says the police chief. "Nothing will change as a result."
Nothing except sliding deeper into the abyss.
(Via Drudge)
Update: It just keeps getting better. The South Pasadena Patch reports that the stop light was out because of an "unplanned" electric utility outage due to "extreme heat." Unplanned outages for extreme heat are what happens in the Third World...or in Double "A" America.
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