Such an easy solution?

The authors make it all seem so easy.  Here we are still barely recovering from a bad recession with still high unemployment, but there is so much work to be done here at home.  The government agreed to spend billions to rescue the banks, but now most of the banks are repaying their loans, how about we use some of that returned money and invest in the infrastructure improvements that the American Society of Engineers say we need to fix.  This seems like a win-win situation for everyone.  The government could create thousands of jobs, our tax money would be spent here at home and the economy would benefit.  Why is it that we are not hearing this from some of our elected officials?  Is this something that the parties would fail to agree on?

Two other points that hit home:
1.  The authors state that 49% of US Adults don't know how long it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun.  Be Honest!  Did anyone have to go look it up?
2.  I have often wondered just how the political system in the US has become so polarized.  I am old enough to remember when it was not this way, but I guess I just wasn't paying attention and had no idea how it got so bad.  The authors do a nice job in the section titled "the way we where" of telling how gerrymandering and the primary system has produced the disfunctional system we now have.  I found this very illuminating.  I hope they have suggestions for how to fix it!!

Do you think any of our elected officials have read this book?