America's Infrastructure Earns a 'D+', Which Is Actually an Improvement

The report card for America's infrastructure finally arrived today, and at first glance it looks as if the country's managers won't be getting dessert for a month. The country's infrastructure received an overall grade of "D+" from the American Society of Civil Engineers, which releases its "report card" every four years assessing the condition of roads, airports, mass transit, the electric grid and other vital organs of national health.

The grade actually represents progress over the "D" that ASCE stuck the country with in 2009. The engineers behind the 2013 report say this still signifies "poor" infrastructure that's subject to "significant deterioration" and a "strong risk of failure." No doubt, they are correct. But as Brad Plumer notes over at Wonkblog, while the ASCE is highly qualified to point out and list all of the engineering deficiencies in our infrastructure, it's much less skilled at crafting policy prescriptions or spending proposals.