How could Flint happen?

For those not up on the Flint, Michigan, dilemma, it is one of a failed water system that has been giving 140,000 people lead-tainted water for more than a year. A cash-strapped city administration was trying to save money by using water from the Flint River instead of more expensive Lake Huron water. The result is potential lead poisoning for 6,000 to 12,000 children -- a disaster. As sad as that situation is, our infrastructure experts tell us the Flint problem is just the tip of the iceberg.

The city of New Orleans reports its water pipes are more than 100 years old. Do you remember the Interstate 35 Mississippi River Bridge collapse in Minnesota in 2007 that killed 13 and injured 145? This past year, at the end of a rainy 10 days, South Carolina closed more than 80 roads and 36 bridges, and there were 32 dam failures.

To trace some history, we have been involved in a taxpayer revolt since the 1970s. Some say it began with Proposition 13 in California, which cut real estate taxes by 80 percent and left them in a constant state of fiscal impossibility. In 2014, their state budget deficit reached $20 billion.

To state the obvious, our infrastructure is supported by tax money. Roads, bridges, schools, water and sewer systems, etc., were created in a time of lower costs and higher taxes.

Yes, taxes used to be higher than now. In 1952, the first year of the Eisenhower administration, taxes were 30 percent on the first $25,000 of personal income and 52 percent on the next $25,000. Today, the same figures are 15 percent on the first $50,000 and 25 percent on the next $25,000. In the 1950s, corporations paid 22 percent of all federal tax revenue. Today, that figure is less than 10 percent.

All over the country, city and state officials are cash strapped, while the politicians continue to echo the words of former President George H.W. Bush: "Read my lips, no new taxes." Most believe if they even mention raising taxes, they won't be elected.

In regards to Bush and his "no new taxes" pledge, he reneged on that pledge. Once he was in office and saw firsthand the depth of the problem, he realized there was no solution other than to raise taxes. He knew if he went back on his pledge it would probably cost him his bid for re-election. And, it may have.

To the credit of President Bush, he did what he thought was necessary for the good of the country. He is not the first politician, and hopefully will not be the last, to do what is right and best despite potential consequences. We need more like him today.