Bridge Collapse Is Another Wake-Up Call

Crews survey the scene of a bridge collapse on Interstate 5 on May 23, 2013, near Mt. Vernon, Washington. I-5 connects Seattle, Washington, to Vancouver, B.C., Canada. No deaths have been reported, and three people were taken to hospitals with injuries. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

The collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge in Mount Vernon, Washington should be another wake up call to all of us. America cannot continue to ignore our own schools, highways, and bridges while we build schools, highways, and bridges around the world. We have a deteriorating infrastructure problem.

I support helping our neighbors around the world, but we cannot continue to borrow the money to do so. America is trillions of dollars in debt. We have to get our own house in order. We cannot continue nation-building around the globe while ignoring our own nation. We must balance our budget, pay off our trillions, and put Americans back to work repairing and building our own infrastructure. As our country begins to recover and prosper, we can then help others.

Currently we have a mentality that we must go around the world building cities and nations in other countries. We are doing this much to the demise of our own country. We can no longer rob from Peter to pay Paul. The dollars must start flowing once again in our nation. We must pay down our debt, put Americans back to work, and rebuild our own nation. We can then assess what projects we can afford. The Washington bridge project will cost approximately fifteen million dollars to replace. Every state has a bunch of bridges that need serious attention. I don’t know of anybody who wants to be on one when it collapses. It’s time we put our tax dollars to work repairing or replacing them.

Imagine your personal bank account. You have zero dollars in your account. You have 10 credit cards maxed out to the credit limit. Yet, you find a way to possess another credit card and you give that card to your teenage son and say, “There is a $3,000 credit limit on this card. Go out this weekend and have a great time.” If you would respond by saying, “That would be insane,” you are right. It is insane that our country continues to spend money we do not have on projects overseas we cannot afford, to help people who do not like us, when our own house in America is so very much out of order. We must wake up and get our own house in America in order.

Glenn Mollette
Newburgh, Indiana