> That was intended as a rhetorical device to emphasize our buildings still crumble from earthquakes

When did a building in Tokio crumble from an earthquake last time? Long-long-long time ago for a place where earthquakes are almost daily experience.

The fact that US infrastracture is poorly designed and mantained does not say anything about our technology and capabilities, it only tells us that our social and political systems suck. In some places of that planet.