- #1
fourier jr
- 765
- 13
This is the sort of thing that could save the US. Besides getting people working, if the proects are chosen thoughtfully travel time & costs could be reduced by eliminating bottlenecks, congestion, etc. Materials are almost always produced locally also, which would create more jobs. The government could realistically pump many hundreds of billions (or >$1trillion) of dollars into the economy by 2015 without doing "too much" (as John McCain thinks). Just recall the colossal effort China (& many other countries actually, including Canada) is making on their highways, railways, etc:
Hillary Clinton is on the right track, but she isn't thinking big enough imho:
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1821178120080419A top Democrat in the U.S. Congress raised the possibility on Friday of creating a federal infrastructure bank to help pay for roads, subways and other projects that could create jobs and improve the environment.
The new debt-selling bank would be an independent federal entity that would evaluate major projects and use various financial tools to fund them, explained House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.
"With the economy slowing down and job losses accelerating, we must look for opportunities to take advantage of the stimulative effect of investing in infrastructure," Pelosi said in a speech prepared for delivery to the Regional Plan Association, a think tank.
*snip*
Pelosi told her audience: "I believe that if there were one item in the stimulus package -- if the President said, 'Just pick one and we'll go whole hog on it,' it should be infrastructure." She added the investments should be "substantial."
Hillary Clinton is on the right track, but she isn't thinking big enough imho:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/story.aspx?guid={4B81349E-8B5D-44C5-97D8-59D1A2AC1BA8}LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she wants to create 3 million new jobs by investing in the nation's infrastructure and develop what she calls a "greener, sleeker 21st Century highway and transit system."
Clinton discussed the new jobs at an AFL-CIO Pennsylvania state convention in Philadelphia, pointing out a number of public safety projects are needed to address immediate safety concerns. She called for a $10 billion emergency repair fund.
"President Bush has stood by and watched as we've lost 3 million manufacturing jobs. And he's done nothing about the loopholes in our tax code that actually encourage companies to ship jobs overseas," Clinton said. "It's time for a different approach."
Clinton also called for a long-term commitment to a modern infrastructure, including a $60 billion infrastructure bank to evaluate highway construction projects that she proposed last year.
She also called for expanding public transit networks to the tune of $1.5 billion a year, and said she wants to use eco-friendly methods in the construction process, including the used of recycled materials in the building process.
Last edited: