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Create Jobs, Rebuild Infrastructure with National Infrastructure Bank
A broad coalition of union, business, government and academic leaders has called for creation of a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) that not only would propel the rebuilding of the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, but also would be a major job-creating engine.
At a Capitol Hill press conference this week, Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), told reporters:
History has shown that when our nation invests in its core infrastructure needs, economic progress inevitably follows. This is important to remember as we grapple to address the twin problems of economic growth and job creation.
The NIB would direct public and private dollars toward infrastructure projects of national or regional significance. The Obama administration’s fiscal year 2010 budget included $5 billion in seed money for an NIB, but it was not included in the omnibus budget bill.
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D.), co-chair of Building America’s Future, a bipartisan group of state and local government leaders, says creation and funding of an NIB “is urgently needed” to address the infrastructure funding shortfalls for national and regional projects.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who introduced legislation (H.R. 2521) to create an infrastructure bank last year, says the bank:
would objectively leverage significant investment into the transportation, environmental, energy and telecommunications infrastructure systems critical to rebuilding America and keeping us competitive in the 21st century. Any strategy for long-term job creation and economic growth must be centered on moving from a consumption economy to an economy that puts people to work building things again.
Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard says infrastructure spending has an impact beyond the jobs it creates for rebuilding, roads, bridges, waterways and transit systems. It can boost manufacturing jobs, too. Says Gerard:
Working people across the country are anxious to see what their elected representatives will do to address the crisis in American manufacturing. Creating a National Infrastructure Bank and passing the jobs bill are two ways the current Congress can demonstrate their commitment to workers and their families.
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3 Comments
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Banks not lending consumer not spending?
It is truth in both cases, but the question is WHY?
So far is proven even after $786Billion bank rescue spending no major bank willing to lend, some have no one looking under surface what is really going on? As we all know Federal Reserve Bank and branches around the world is owned by private bankers and are the ones requested to Mr. Paulson specific amount for so called Bank rescue money and returning miniscule amount to show and build public confidence that in the future all amount will be returned? SCAM is well played. In actuality the same bankers holding the chock on the banks lending, not all but must. Some small regional banks are doing well taking consideration public saving rate have money to lend and they doing it.
Taking consideration OBAMA administration stand for rules and regulation making this people very uncomfortable and not to sure of the outcome, using that kind policy of not lending in a way to show and prove their power and intimate the administration, . This is a silence war. Lately some wall St, traders talking about 10% correction of the market even some other honest traders could not understand what is really going on with the market which is acting out of traditional way . Unfortunately most the time what is been speculated by this croaks happened to be realized..
Claiming that banks have no money to lend but same time no one can figure out where is so called rescue money gone and adding to that consumer saving rate which translates money in the bank does not make any sense at all.
In conclusion as long as FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS here and around the world can operated at will with no rules and regulation and or check and balances we the public will be at the merci of this bankers, so far no one or any Government including ours never audited any one of this banks .
On the consumer spending side the reality is public lost the trust to WALL ST. and their own GOVERNMENT after so called banking industry collapse will take a lot to bring back that trust,
My opinion only way to get around it is, Instant of waiting for the big banks to lend money to small business our Government should create a government agency which will take applications from small business owners which could be done by the internet or mail if approved requested amount can be transfer directly to the barrower choice of local bank and this bank can charge per say 3% and paid Government 1% to recoup the administration coast. In fact this will not only immediately create Jobs but will end the fight between the big banks and our Government
Salih Eser
Irvine CA.
It would help if utility companies would reinvest some of their profits into maintenance and upgrading of water lines, sewer lines, power lines, whatever. That would undoubtedly create some jobs.
I know for a fact that my power company, American Electric Power has NOT been maintaining the power lines. We recently had a snowstorm and thousands of people lost power, many of them for a week or more. AEP is now being investigated by the PSC. Of course, now they’re out there scrambling to cut the trees off the power lines. I know from personal experience they have not been doing that previously. My mother called them regarding a tree that was resting on the power line in front of her home and was told to call back when it ‘became a problem’. In other words, when her power went out!
And also in my area there have been numerous water line breaks in the past year or so. Had these lines been maintained, rather than allowed to crumble, people wouldn’t have been inconvenienced by water outages. AND it would have cost the company less than the major repairs they faced thanks to the breaks.
It may be old-fashioned or a cliche but it still holds true: ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’.
After watching the PBS segment on the credit card industry and the attitudes of those who appeared, it seems clear to me that the appropriate response for such attitudes is to meet on equal ground in the challenge for superiority that is being conveyed.
That means that the Unions can, and should, seek a rate hike in the minimum wage to offset the premise that banks and financial corporations have the privilege to set usary rates of their own without considering the effect upon others. If they have this right, free from regulation by state or federal government, it stands to reason that Unions have a right to set their own wage rates free from regulation by state or federal government – in order to facilitate their own pursuit of commercial freedom free from the constraints of public regulatory mechanisms to prevent it.
There appears to be no other common ground than to recognize the issue for what it is – freedom to dictate – with respect to earnings and profits. Employees have that same privilege with respect to unions as banks seem to insist upon regardless of the effect on the American people. Who needs minimum wages at set levels when banks and government take increasingly large segments of that wage.
What other principle comes to bear upon this issue – with respect to whether government stands up for the people or the banking industry. Sacrificing people to economic and social darwinism must be a two way street, or the leverage factor will determine the winner, and the road to genocide is paved with such social and economic darwinism.