Decline of US...moral hazard links

I've ranted about the decline in the standard of living in the US for years to come. There are a number of reasons why I believe this. One major reason I haven't touched on recently is the increasing problem of the deteriorating infrastructure of the US. There is a long laundry list of infrastructure issues that are WAY overdue on the honey-do list for the US.

* Roads and Bridges
* Dams and Levees
* Water and Sewage
* Electrical Grid
* Mass Transportation

There are a number of reasons why the list above are in serious disrepair and are catastrophes waiting to happen. One reason that never gets mentioned is moral hazard. How does this play out you say? Take for example an article in today's CNN.com: Report: Money fears might have led to bridge collapse

For example, instead of a $40,000 ground-penetrating radar survey of the bridge deck in 2006, engineers dragged a chain across the span to listen for unsound concrete. The radar test, an internal e-mail notes, "was not completed due to lack of funding."

Lack of funding, budget deficits, more pressing priorities...these are the excuses given to continually push off inspections, reviews, upgrades and modernization of infrastructure. The consequences, as was seen with the bridge in Minnesota and the levess during Katrina. But, if the federal government will step in when there is a catastrophe (taxpayers that is) and there is a plausible defense as to why the lapse occurred, why should states pay to fix these problems? This is a moral hazard and it exists anytime there is the possibility of tax payer bailouts. You see this in the finance industry now. What is it going to take for these infrastructure issues to be dealt with in a fiscally resposnible and proactive fashion? If history repeats itself, it will take bloodshed and tax payer bailouts before any real action occurs. Pretty soon, with massive failures in critical structures, we'll have that bloodshed.