Sooner or later, things start falling apart. Buildings, industries, systems, entire ways of thinking—everything. Thanks, entropy! At times, the breakdown might be subtle. It might be slow. It might not be noticeable to everyone at first. However, there are those with keen eyes and sharp minds who sense the impending doom and maybe even take steps to avoid catastrophe. Inspired by u/Fossy, some of the members of r/AskReddit spilled the tea about all the things that are dangerously close to total collapse that they know of, from infrastructure and education to the middle class and beyond. Check out their insights below, and be sure to add your own thoughts in the comments.
w4559 , Nicola Barts / pexels Report
allbrightwes , Oladimeji Ajegbile / pexels Report
Judge_Bredd3 , Tom Fisk / pexels Report
According to one US Senate proposal, there is a massive gap between the money that’s spent on infrastructural maintenance and what’s needed for the sake of safety and proper functioning. The proposal notes that, based on the findings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [ASCE], the US would have to spend $3.6 trillion “just to bring our existing Infrastructure into a state of good repair by 2020.”
At the time, the Senate proposal noted that the infrastructure investment gap could be responsible for a loss of $4 trillion of gross domestic product and the loss of 2.5 million jobs. That’s a massive blow to any economy. And the situation may be getting even worse!
The American Society of Civil Engineers states that according to a recent analysis, the total infrastructure investment gap has gone from $2.1 trillion over 10 years to $2.59 trillion. The ASCE notes that the knock-on effects will be devastating. By 2039, it would result in the loss of $10 trillion in GDP, over 3 million jobs, and $2.24 trillion in exports over two decades.
Crafty_Bad_6232 , Polina Tankilevitch / pexels Report
Funkrusher_Plus , RDNE Stock project / pexels Report
DoctoreVodka , Pixabay / pexels Report
“Problems like these translate into higher costs for businesses to manufacture and distribute goods and provide services. These higher costs, in turn, get passed along to workers and families. By 2039, America’s overdue infrastructure bill will cost the average American household $3,300 a year, or $63 a week.”
16RabidCats , Lukas / pexels Report
nerdy99 , cottonbro studio / pexels Report
FlorallFairy , rfduck / flickr Report
For example, many folks won’t start worrying about exercise and healthy food until they get a health scare. Nor does your average driver care much about road maintenance until they hit a series of potholes, nor your resident worry about plumbing until there’s a leak. Similarly, a hands-off manager might not notice the signs that their team is burning out until it’s too late.
doodle_rooster , Dimitris Kamaras / flickr Report
MantisAwakening , Eternal Child / pexels Report
ipsofactoshithead , Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels Report
What infrastructure projects, industries, and systems have you personally seen collapsing in your local areas, dear Pandas? Is anything being done about it? How would the collapse affect you personally? Let us know in the comments.
OoTgoated , K Bahr / flickr Report
halleberryhaircut , Tim Mossholder / pexels Report
angel_withredeyes11 , RDNE Stock project / pexels Report
HeyImBandit , Ahmed akacha / pexels Report
-im-your-huckleberry , Rodolfo Quirós / pexels Report
ImprovementFar5054 , Bernd Thaller / flickr Report
Wookie_Nipple , Maurício Mascaro / pexels Report
lobsterman2112 , Antoni Shkraba / pexels Report
Mr-Safety , David Riaño Cortés / pexels Report
spinmove , Bayram Er / pexels Report
TicanDoko , Mark Wolfe / Wikipedia Report
Squigglepig52 , Jan Kroon / pexels Report
eju2000 , Pixabay / pexels Report
reiveroftheborder , Skitterphoto / pexels Report
oddlotz , B575 / Wikipedia Report
gpedp , Yan Krukau / pexels Report
TrishPanda18 , Eric Prouzet / pexels Report
Ruby-Shark , Donald Tong / pexels Report
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