15 In a column headlined “Time to Reboot America”: Thomas Friedman, “Time to Reboot America,” 23 Dec. 2008, www.nytimes.com.
16 Armando Carbonell, chairman of the Department of Planning: “Are ‘Mega-Regions’ the Future of Transportation?” 29 Jun. 2008, www.npr.org.
17 Felix Rohatyn, author of Bold Endeavors: Felix Rohatyn, Bold Endeavors: How Our Government Built America, and Why It Must Rebuild Now (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009), 2, 3.
18 Building America’s Future (BAF): www.bafuture.org/about.
19 “deliver a message to Washington …”: “Pa.’s Rendell Urging Fix for Bridges, Roads,” 29 Jun. 2008, www.npr.org.
20 “If we don’t do something quickly …”: “The Next American Economy: Transforming Energy and Infrastructure Investment,” 3 Feb. 2010, www.brookings.edu.
21 According to Department of Transportation estimates: American Society of Civil Engineers, “National Fact Sheet,” 2005, www.asce.org.
22 In addition, it could also produce what Rendell: “Pa.’s Rendell Urging Fix for Bridges, Roads,” 29 Jun. 2008, www.npr.org.
23 As the debate over the stimulus began: Thomas Friedman, “Time to Reboot America,” 23 Dec. 2008, www.nytimes.com.
24 The result was a bill Jeffrey Sachs: Jeffrey Sachs, “A Fiscal Straitjacket,” 27 Jan. 2009, www.ft.com.
25 In the end, the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Ed O’Keefe, “Eye Opener: April 14, 2009,” www.washingtonpost.com.
26 “I fear that we may soon look back and say …”: Van Jones, in conversation with the author, 2 Feb. 2009.
27 Faced with an even more devastating economic crisis: Alan Brinkley, “Roosevelt, Franklin Delano,” Feb. 2000, www.fdrheritage.org.
28 Among them is Steven Solomon: “Will the Next War Be Fought over Water?” 3 Jan. 2010, www.npr.org.
29 Despite the indispensable nature: Jeanne M. VanBriesen, “The Nation’s Big Water Repair Bill,” 11 Apr. 2010, www.nytimes.com.
30 Indeed, some of the nation’s tap water: Charles Duhigg, “Saving U.S. Water and Sewer Systems Would Be Costly,” 14 Mar. 2010, www.nytimes.com.
31 As a result of leaking pipes, we lose: American Society of Civil Engineers, “Infrastructure Report Card Fact Sheet: Drinking Water,” 2009, www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
32 According to a New York Times analysis of data: Charles Duhigg, “Saving U.S. Water and Sewer Systems Would Be Costly,” 14 Mar. 2010, www.nytimes.com.
33 Washington, D.C., averages a water line break: Ibid.
34 “We have about two million miles of pipe …”: “Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure,” 19 Oct. 2009, www.infrastructureusa.org.
35 Even now, our tap water is becoming: Testimony of Judy Treml, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 15 Oct. 2009, www.transportation.house.gov.
36 “Older systems are plagued by chronic overflows …”: American Society of Civil Engineers, “America’s Infrastructure Report Card Fact Sheet: Wastewater,” 2009, www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
37 While demand for electricity has risen: Thomas J. Donohue, “Rebuilding America—the Time Is Now,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 10 Aug. 2007, www.uschamber.com.
38 Since we need all the power: American Society of Civil Engineers, “America’s Infrastructure Report Card Fact Sheet: Energy,” 2009, www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
39 These ongoing brownouts and blackouts: U.S. Department of Energy, “Smart Grid System Report,” Jul. 2009, www.energy.gov.
40 The ASCE estimates that it could take: American Society of Civil Engineers, “America’s Infrastructure Report Card Fact Sheet: Energy,” 2009, www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
41 On August 14, 2003, we got a glimpse: Allan J. DeBlasio et al., “Learning from the 2003 Blackout,” U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Sep./Oct. 2004, www.tfhrc.gov.
42 What happened? Power lines, heavy from: “U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force: Final Report on the August 14th Blackout in the United States and Canada,” 61, 93, www.energy.gov.
43 America’s roads are also in miserable shape: American Society of Civil Engineers, “America’s Infrastructure Report Card: Roads,” 2009, www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
44 From 1980 to 2005, the miles traveled by cars: Ibid.
45 Americans spend 4.2 billion hours a year: Ibid.
46 City drivers have it particularly bad: Ted R. Miller and Eduard Zaloshnja, “On a Crash Course: The Dangers and Health Costs of Deficient Roadways,” Apr. 2009, www.pire.org.
47 Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) determined: Ibid.
48 53 percent of the forty-two thousand road fatalities: Ibid.
49 We are currently spending $70 billion annually: American Society of Civil Engineers, “America’s Infrastructure Report Card: Roads,” 2009, www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
50 By the year 2000, each day, 3.5 million: Nick Paumgarten, “There and Back Again: The Soul of the Commuter,” 16 Apr. 2007, www.newyorker.com.
51 One in eight workers—17.5 million Americans: Hope Yen, “Recession’s Impact: Census Data Show Longer Commutes, Delayed Marriage, Fewer Immigrants,” Associated Press, 21 Sep. 2009.
52 Robert Putnam, a Harvard political scientist: Nick Paumgarten, “There and Back Again: The Soul of the Commuter,” 16 Apr. 2007, www.newyorker.com.
53 A study by Swiss economists: Alois Stutzer and Bruno S. Frey, “Stress That Doesn’t Pay: The Commuting Paradox,” Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Discussion Paper No. 1278, Aug. 2004, www.iew.unizh.ch
54 America’s railway system is speeding down the tracks: Tom Vanderbilt, “Stop This Train!” 15 May 2009, www.slate.com.
55 At the moment, the only high-speed train: Chris Dolmetsch, “Amtrak Cuts Acela Train Fares to Attract More Leisure Travelers,” 17 Feb. 2009, www.bloomberg.com.
56 While in theory the trains: Nicole C. Wong, “Will Stimulus Funds Put Rail on the Fast Track?” 25 Feb. 2009, www.bostonglobe.com.
57 Meanwhile, countries such as Japan, France, and Italy: Mark Reutler, “How America Led, and Lost, the High-Speed Rail Race,” 31 Mar. 2010, www.progressivefix.com.
58 For example, the six-hundred-mile ride: Randy James, “A Brief History of High-Speed Rail,” 20 Apr. 2010, www.time.com.
59 The stimulus bill included $8 billion: “Obama Wants Nationwide High-Speed Rail System,” 28 Jan. 2010, www.cnn.com.
60 $1.25 billion going to a high-speed rail corridor: Michael Cooper, “Stimulus Plan for Rail Line Shows System of Weak Links,” 22 Mar. 2010, www.nytimes.com.
61 Of course, high-speed rail systems: Matt Van Hattem, “High Speed Rail in the Northeast: Beyond the Corridor, Slow Trains Get Some Help,” Trains Magazine, 28 Jan. 2010, www.trains.com.
62 So while this new investment is a start: Tom Vanderbilt, “Stop This Train!” 15 May 2009, www.slate.com.
63 According to the Department of Transportation: American Society of Civil Engineers, “America’s Infrastructure Report Card for 2009: Bridges,” 2009, www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
64 The problem is pretty basic: The average bridge: Ibid.
65 It was May 2002, and Webbers Falls: Tim Tally, “Up to 12 Feared Dead in Bridge Collapse,” 27 May 2002, www.bgdailynews.com.
66 Down in the river, towboat captain William Joe Dedmon: Magnolia Marine Transport Company v. State of Oklahoma, U.S. Court of Appeals (10th Cir. 2004).
67 Up above, a six-hundred-foot section: “Divers Find 3 Victims from Bridge Collapse,” 27 May 2002, www.cnn.com.
68 In an instant, the Arkansas River turned: Kris Glenn, “Oklahoma Faces Bridge Tragedy,” 29 May 2002, www.oudaily.com.
69 “Officials set up a morgue inside city hall”: Tim Tally, “Up to 12 Feared Dead in Bridge Collapse,” 27 May 2002, www.bgdailynews.com.
70 Indeed, the state had the dubious distinction: Justin Juozapavicius, “Nearly a Quarter of Oklahoma Bridges Need Overhaul or Replacement,” Associated Pre
ss, 25 May 2008.
71 In August 2007, the Interstate 35W: Steve Karnowski, “Contractor Settles with State in 35W Bridge Collapse,” 19 Mar. 2010, http://minnesota.publicradio.org.
72 The bridge had been inspected: Elizabeth Stawicki, “Why Did the Bridge Collapse?” 2 Aug. 2007, http://minnesota.publicradio.org.
73 On March 16, 2006, the Ka Loko Dam in Kilauea, Hawaii: Craig Gima, “Ka Loko Settlement Is Reached,” 30 Oct. 2009, www.starbulletin.com.
74 The breach created an ecological disaster: Diane Leone, “State Keeps Eye on Dams,” 16 Mar. 2006, www.starbulletin.com.
75 According to Hawaii congresswoman Mazie Hirono, it was not: Joint Hearing on National Levee and Dam Safety Programs, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 8 May 2007.
76 There are more than 85,000 dams in America: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
77 It would take $12.5 billion over the next five years: Ibid.
78 Plus, of our 85,000 dams, the federal government regulates: Ibid.
79 In 2007, during congressional testimony: Joint Hearing on National Levee and Dam Safety Programs, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 8 May 2007.
80 Like any number of agencies charged with protecting: Harry Shearer, “Fixing the Responder, Ignoring the Cause,” 25 Nov. 2008, www.huffingtonpost.com.
81 Instead of fulfilling its responsibility to build: Harry Shearer, “New Orleans: Where Accountability Failed, Liability Follows,” 19 Nov. 2009, www.huffingtonpost.com.
82 The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, infrastructurereportcard.org.
83 Over the next ten years, there will be a five-hundredfold: “Fixing America’s Crumbling Infrastructure,” Free Enterprise: News and Views from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Jul. 2008, www.uschambermagazine.com.
84 Federal Communications Commission chair Julius Genachowski explains: “National Broadband Plan: Consumer Survey Results Are In,” 23 Feb. 2010, www.brookings.edu.
85 In a study of 120 countries, researchers found: Iain Morris, “Resilience Amid Turmoil: Benchmarking IT Industry Competitiveness 2009,” Sept. 2009, www.economist.com.
86 Even a farmer these days needs high-speed Internet: “National Broadband Plan: Consumer Survey Results Are In,” 23 Feb. 2010, www.brookings.edu.
87 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth among: Jerome Cukier, “Internet Penetration—Who’s Online?” OECD Factblog, 12 Feb. 2010, www.oecd.org.
88 Over one hundred million Americans still: Julius Genachowski, “America’s 2020 Broadband Vision,” 18 Feb. 2010, www.huffingtonpost.com.
89 And while 83 percent of college graduates: John Horrigan, “Home Broadband Adoption 2009,” Pew Research Center, Jun. 2009, www.pewinternet.org.
90 To help close the widening gap: Tony Romm, “FCC Unveils Executive Summary of National Broadband Plan,” 15 Mar. 2010, www.thehill.com.
91 although the National Education Association estimates: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, www.infrastructurereportcard.org.
92 Among thirty developed countries ranked: Alliance for Excellent Education, “How Does the United States Stack Up? International Comparisons of Academic Achievement,” www.all4ed.org.
93 Even the top 10 percent: Stéphane Baldi et al., “Highlights from PISA 2006: Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Science and Mathematics Literacy in an International Context,” National Center for Education Statistics, 4 Dec. 2007, www.nces.ed.gov.
94 A National Assessment of Educational Progress report found: National Assessment of Educational Progress, “The Nation’s Report Card,” 2009, www.nationsreportcard.gov.
95 In 2001, amid much fanfare: Robert Schlesinger, “Senate OK’s Education Bill, Win for Bush; New Spending, Required Testing,” 15 Jun. 2001, www.bostonglobe.com.
96 But it turned out to be reform in name only: National Assessment of Educational Progress, “The Nation’s Report Card,” 2009, www.nationsreportcard.gov.
97 “Education,” said President Obama: Remarks by the President at Hampton University Commencement, 19 May 2010, www.whitehouse.gov.
98 “Jobs today often require at least a bachelor’s degree”: Ibid.
99 But rather than rising “to meet the challenges of a changing world”: Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, “US High School Graduation Rate Climbs to 69.2 Percent,” 9 Jun. 2009, www.csmonitor.com.
100 And even those who do graduate: “Measuring College and Career Readiness,” 2009 ACT National Profile Report, www.act.org.
101 Ramon Quintero: Robert Greenwald, “Rethink Afghanistan,” 21 Apr. 2010, www.huffingtonpost.com.
102 Patsy Ramirez: Ibid.
103 Amy Brisendine: Ibid.
104 The result is his film, Waiting for Superman: Scott Weinberg, “Sundance Review: Waiting for Superman,” 24 Jan. 2010, www.cinematical.com.
105 He turns a particularly withering spotlight: Waiting for Superman, directed by Davis Guggenheim, written by Billy Kimball and Davis Guggenheim, release date: Sept. 2010.
106 By way of example, he cites the state of Illinois: Ibid.
107 In New York, tenured teachers awaiting disciplinary: Ibid.
108 On average, they remain in this well-paid limbo: Erin Einhorn, “Teachers in Trouble Spending Years in ‘Rubber Room’ Limbo That Costs $65M,” 4 May 2010, www.nydailynews.com.
109 “we could just eliminate the bottom six to ten percent …”: Waiting for Superman, directed by Davis Guggenheim, written by Billy Kimball and Davis Guggenheim, release date: Sept. 2010.
110 The film charts the connection: Center for Responsive Politics, Federal Election Commission Data, 16 May 2010, www.opensecrets.com.
111 Andrew Coulson of the Cato Institute points out: Andrew J. Coulson, “The Effects of Teachers Unions on American Education,” Cato Journal 30, 1 (Winter 2010): 162.
112 “Since 1971, educational spending …”: Waiting for Superman, directed by Davis Guggenheim, written by Billy Kimball and Davis Guggenheim, release date: Sept. 2010.
113 Based on the Prussian educational model: Ann O’Connell, “Are We Teaching American Citizens or Training Prussian Serfs?” May 1998, http://nj.npri.org.
114 Plus, as President Obama pointed out: Association of American Colleges and Universities, Greater Expectations Initiative, www.aacu.org.
115 In the 1950s, only 20 percent of high-school graduates: Diane Ravitch, Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000), 328–330.
116 “The problem is,” says Guggenheim: Waiting for Superman, directed by Davis Guggenheim, written by Billy Kimball and Davis Guggenheim, release date: Sept. 2010.
117 “Once again, it’s a question of priorities: Pew Center on the States, “One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections,” Mar. 2009, www.pewcenteronthestates.org.
118 and the number of people living behind bars: U.S. Department of Justice, “Prison Inmates at Midyear 2008,” 31 Mar. 2009, www.ojp.usdoj.gov.
119 In fact, America has more people living behind bars: International Centre for Prison Studies, “Prison Brief,” Kings College London, www.kcl.ac.uk.
120 Sadly, in that prison population: “Don’t Teach Our Children Crime,” 3 Jul. 2008, www.nytimes.com.
121 Bill Clinton started his second term vowing: Bill Clinton, State of the Union Address, 4 Feb. 1997, clinton2.nara.gov.
122 But as of 1999, America’s: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics, “Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS),” Dec. 2000, www.nces.ed.gov.
123 “By the year 2000,” Bush 41 vowed: George H. W. Bush, State of the Union Address, 31 Jan. 1990, www.cspan.org.
124 But 2000 arrived: National Center for Education Statistics, “Program for International Student Assessment (PISA),” Dec. 2001, www.nces.ed.gov.
125 W
hat Abraham Lincoln said: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, comp. Roy P. Basler (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1955), 537.
PART 4: CSI USA: WHO KILLED THE AMERICAN DREAM?
1 Since 1964 the American National Election Studies: American National Election Studies, “The ANES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior,” 27 Nov. 2005, www.electionstudies.org.
2 In the mid-1960s, only 29 percent: Ibid.
3 And in 2008, 80 percent of Americans surveyed: “World Publics Say Governments Should Be More Responsive to the Will of the People,” 12 May 2008, www.worldpublicopinion.org.
4 In 2009, more than 13,700 registered lobbyists: Dave Levinthal, “Federal Lobbying Climbs in 2009 as Lawmakers Execute Aggressive Congressional Agenda,” 12 Feb. 2010, www.opensecrets.org.
5 double the amount lobbyists spent: Center for Responsive Politics, “Lobbying Database,” 25 Apr. 2010, www.opensecrets.com.
6 From 1974 to 2008 the average amount: Alan R. Grant, The American Political Process, 7th ed. (New York: Routledge, 2004), 252.
7 to more than 1.3 million: Center for Responsive Politics, “Big Picture: Price of Admission,” www.opensecrets.org.
8 For an example of how special interests took advantage: Simon Johnson and James Kwak, “Too Big for Us to Fail,” 26 Apr. 2010, www.prospect.org.
9 According to Simon Johnson and James Kwak in their book: Simon Johnson and James Kwak, 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown (New York: Pantheon, 2010), 91.
10 And the money was, of course, targeted: Ibid.
11 Over the course of the debate: Brian Wingfield, “Wall Street Overhaul Not So Bad for Wall Street,” 17 May 2010, www.forbes.com.
12 For instance, when the Senate was crafting its financial reform bill: “Fannie, Freddie Need to Be Part of Reform: Corker,” 18 May 2010, www.cnbc.com.
13 This despite the fact that in just the first quarter of 2010: Gretchen Morgenson, “Ignoring the Elephant in the Bailout,” 7 May 2010, www.nytimes.com.
14 As of May 2010, according to Morgenson: Ibid.
15 “I don’t understand why people are not talking about it”: Ibid.
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