House Plan for Infrastructure Disappoints Advocates for Major Projects

[elleng]

Source: NYTimes

"When President-elect Barack Obama announced last month that he would revive the economy with the largest public works program since the dawn of the Interstate System of highways, advocates for the nation’s long-neglected infrastructure were euphoric.

Some hoped that the time had finally come to bring high-speed rail to the United States, or to wean the nation from its dependence on foreign oil with new or transformed public transit systems, or to take bold action to solve the problems of rising populations and falling reservoir levels across the Southwest.

But those hopes are fading. As the details of the plan come into focus, big transformative building projects seem unlikely. And the plan does not begin to provide the kind of money that civil engineers believe is needed to bring the nation’s aging bridges and water systems and roads and transit systems to a state of good repair.">>>



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/us/politics/20publicw...

[lapfog_1]

1. Start with the levees and rebuilding New Orleans.

Then the water systems in general. Dams and water pipes and reservoirs and sewage treatment.

While they are doing that, do the electrical grid and decentralize power generation, add gigawatts of renewables.

Then worry about highways and high speed rail.

[elleng]

2. Have you sent those suggestions

to the Team?

[lapfog_1]

3. Yes... to change.gov... but as of yesterday,

you will have to wait for the new whitehouse.gov website.

At least, I think that's what is reality now.

[elleng]

4. Prolly,

but good that you sent.

[KamaAina]

8. NOLA does not even appear on a Top Ten list of cities best positioned for the package!

let alone be Number One, as you suggest.

Should Nagin happen to be lurking here: Get your a$$ in gear! NOW!!

http://www.nola.com/forums/stocks/index.ssf?artid=46098

[Optical.Catalyst]

5. Global climate change and our dependence on foreign oil should be priority #1

Putting the workers of the United States back to work on long term productive endeavors like new sources of energy are our future. With meaningful industrial production of green energy products, our economy will generate the extra capitol to fund the infrastructure programs. Otherwise we are just painting over the accumulated decay.

[xchrom]

6. you could put a lot of people to work just fixing

the streets where i live.

they're in terrible condition.

[Romulox]

7. LOL. The "stimulus" is just a run-of-the-mill pork bill. nt