[Themaintainers] infrastructure

[Jonathan Coopersmith]

We would love to see some discussion on this list about what (and how) a
Biden administration infrastructure plan should include – or not include.
Feel free to comment below or in our Google doc (https://docs.google
.com/document/d/1KIwcUftbbPFosuCImIgTo9Vi7efjHqwrzLPI-d32NlA/edit#heading=h.sldtfjeu8n39
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/docs.google.com/document/d/1KIwcUftbbPFosuCImIgTo9Vi7efjHqwrzLPI-d32NlA/edit*heading=h.sldtfjeu8n39__;Iw!!KwNVnqRv!Wa5eXMIDkSjQh8d6_dDL_t8KFwpsj8ARrRo6fV7jE22O2cvLuuhOnuoJXbgmEGvzFaoy$>
)

Here are a few ideas – thoughts?



Any good horror stories to exemplify what *not* to do?



*Coverage*

What should a federal infrastructure initiative include?

- upgrading/replacing USG and state legacy computer systems?

- upgrading/creating data collection systems for, e.g., underground asset
data and similar needs (e.g., Open Geospatial Consortium)

- eliminating lead pipes?

- universal broadband

- electric car chargers?

- secure networks for AVs, IOT

- protection, robustness and resilience against extreme weather (e.g.,
place power and distribution lines and optical cables underground against
wildfires, snow, ice)





*Universal project requirements*

Mandate a maintenance overview of every project with general goals.

   What are those goals?

Very important is the concept of pay more now for lower life-cycle costs –
how can this tradeoff best be expressed or quantified?  What is the time
frame?  This has the dual benefits of helping the economy more now when it
is needed and reducing future spending by governments.



Design for easy maintenance and upgrading – are there specific examples or
policies to cite?





*Implementation*

Reinstate the Obama ARRA compliance public tracker



What else did the Obama ARRA do right – and wrong (in some cases,
“shovel-ready” meant clunkers of projects instead of good, but unfunded
projects)?



Incentivize private and public sector maintenance by creating liability
safe harbors for asset owners and operators (analogous to safe harbors
protecting MDs from malpractice lawsuits if they practice evidence-based
medicine)



Involve the public as much as possible in understanding the options and
tradeoffs.  Try to obtain maximum buy-in (remembering that pain tends to be
concentrated and gains diffused).



Force competing entities to create interfaces for easier data exchange (one
flaw of the Obama administration promotion of electronic medical records
was its failure to mandate that firms that received USG$ had to create and
offer a universal interface so competing products could compete – the
administration believed normal market forces would ensure that.  It was
wrong).


Many thanks!


Stay sane, keep washing those hands, and practice social solidarity as well
as physical distancing,

Jonathan

Jonathan Coopersmith
Professor
Department of History
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX  77843-4236
979.739.4708 (cell)
979.862.4314 (fax)

Engineering elections:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/security/engineering-principles-us-election

Racial disparities in waiting to vote:
https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-long-time-to-vote-141267

*FAXED.  The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine* (Johns Hopkins University
Press)
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