This week’s power failure in parts of Washington, D.C. are a reminder, as if one were needed, about the deplorable state of infrastructure more generally in the United States. Many of our roads are in miserable shape (and not just because of the brutal winter), our bridges are crumbling, and many of our airports are nothing short of an embarrassment. Overseas visitors arriving for the first time at any of the greater New York City airports must wonder if there has been some mistake, and they have instead just arrived in a developing country.