In order to maintain a high standard of living, a nation must maintain a functioning infrastructure. Major investment in the improvement of its infrastructure will, over time, reward a nation with a corresponding rise in its standard of living. Hence a nation whose standard of living is on the rise can be safely assumed to be a nation that has invested heavily in improving its infrastructure. The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument fails to take into account that ['nations often experience short-term crises that require that resources be diverted to purposes other than the maintenance and improvement of infrastructure', "a rise in a nation's standard of living need not be the result of major investments in its infrastructure", 'many nations are unable to make the needed investments in infrastructure', "the rise in a nation's standard of living that is prompted by investment in its infrastructure may take a long time to occur"]