Building Our Way Out

[marmar]

from OurFuture.org:



Building Our Way Out
By Eric Lotke

September 22nd, 2008 - 3:28pm ET




A new poll this week reaffirms that almost 80 percent of Americans (rightly) think the country is on the wrong track. A proposal to put $700 billion taxpayer dollars on the line to bail out reckless Wall Street firms isn't helping Americans feel better. Public opinion polls suggest that most Americans, while acknowledging that we're in a financial crisis that demands an aggressive response, look at that proposal and are saying, "There must be a better way."

The answer is right before us. Bridges and dams and schools.

America’s World War II era infrastructure is starting to decay. One out of four bridges in the United States is “structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.” Most drinking water and sewer pipes are more than 50 years old, and many are more than 100 years old. One third of our schools need extensive repair; 15,000 public schools had air that was unfit to breathe.

America needs rebuilding. And the American people need jobs. Put one and one together. Make two. And build a bridge while you’re at it.

It’s a real way out of our economic mess. Every $1 billion of federal funding invested in transportation infrastructure creates 47,500 jobs. Every $1 billion spent on our water infrastructure creates 57,400 jobs. Catching up on $20 billion in deferred school maintenance would generate 250,000 jobs.

But politicians, for the most part, resist this solution. Republicans see government spending and try to shut it down. Democrats see deficits and run for the hills.

These politicians underestimate the wisdom and prudence of the American people. A June survey of likely voters by Hart Research showed a country that wants more than stimulus. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of voters think the economy is facing “long-term, structural economic problems.” Only one-third (30 percent) say it is a “short-term economic downturn.”

Investing in physical infrastructure is among the most popular of long-term solutions. A June survey by Rockefeller Foundation found 82 percent support for “increasing government spending on things like public-works projects to help create jobs.” ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2008093922/way-out

[dhpgetsit]

1. The bailout is not an investment.

It's just throwing good money after bad.