Reply #1: I've seen some of this being promoted on financial sites...

[KoKo]

It sounds good in theory. What I've seen as an explanation is that "since we bailed out the banks, it's only fair that they should invest in our infrastructure, because state tax revenues are down because of the housing crash and unemployed. Therefore, private companies, (banks, Hedge Funds, REITS,etc) would be willing to invest in building or refitting and reap the profits, without the taxpayers having to have the burden." (this is just a synopsis of what I've seen around the financial sites)

Problem is... As your article points out... Who will be supervising this construction, refitting for energy efficiency, etc.? Who will oversee if it's a boondoggle and these investment companies, banks, etc. do shoddy work, default on the projects or funnel money into favorite politician's back accounts?

Can we trust some of the same people who ruined our economy and got bailed out to not do the same thing once again? None of them have ever been held accountable. Why should we expect them to do this "out of the goodness of their greedy little hearts?" :shrug: