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- Infrastructure is key to competitiveness—NIB solves Rendell 10
stimulusNIB allows for fiscal stimulus without adding to the deficit Skidelsky and Martin 11-*Emeritus Professor of Economics @ the University of Warwick, Fellow of the British Academy, Chairmen of the Governors of Brighton College, **PhD in Economics @ Oxford, Senior Investment Analyst @ Thames River Capital, Writes for the Institute for New Economic Thinking [Robert, “For a National Investment Bank,” 3/30/2011, http://www.skidelskyr.com/site/article/for-a-national-investment-bank/, DKP] President Obama is in a bind. He knows that the economic recovery is fragile and dependent on continued fiscal stimulus—hence the bipartisan deal on further tax breaks he brokered in December. But he also knows that the tolerance in Washington for deficits of close to 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product is running out. In the short term, the politics of the new Congress will not allow them; and in the long term, the President’s own National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has warned against them. The President’s dilemma was on open display in his State of the Union address in January. It is, he said, deficit spending by government that has “broken the back of this recession”; and government-supported investment in innovation, education, and infrastructure that is needed to “win the future.” But while sending to Congress a budget that he promised will produce “countless new jobs,” the President at the same time proposed to cut the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade. Overall investment and spending must be maintained by the government in order to support the economy at a time when unemployment remains at unprecedented postwar levels and a quarter of home owners owe more on their mortgages than the value of their property. The Federal Reserve has tried to stimulate the economy through a loose monetary policy, keeping interest rates very low and purchasing $600 billion in Treasury notes from big banks in an effort to make more money available to the banking system—a measure called quantitative easing. But the deficit must also be cut in order to preserve the nation’s creditworthiness. This is the urgent challenge the President knows America is facing. Is there a way to square the circle? Part of the solution, we believe, lies in the creation of a National Investment Bank that will produce more jobs while not seriously increasing the deficit. Infrastructure is key to competitiveness—NIB solves Rendell 10-Former Governor of Pennsylvania, JD @ Villanova, former Chairman of the National Governor’s Association, co-founder of “Build America’s Future,” Sports Analyst for Eagles Postgame Live [Edward, Center for American Progress, “The Infrastructure Edge,” 12/1/2010, http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/12/infrastructure_edge.html/print.html, DKP] Infrastructure may be the least sexy word in the English language, but it’s one of the most important. There are two startling facts about our competitors that highlight our economic challenge when it comes to the state of our infrastructure. China’s Port of Shanghai has almost as much container capacity as all U.S. ports combined. And Singapore, a nation of less than 4 million people and under 260 square miles, has global port capacity that outstrips the combined volume of our largest ports in California and New York. These countries understand that investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure is essential to maintaining their competitiveness in today’s global marketplace. Contrast these examples with the American track record on infrastructure and our staggering needs. Rolling blackouts and inefficiencies in the U.S. electrical grid cost an estimated $80 billion a year. From 1980 to 2006 the number of miles traveled increased 97 percent for cars and 106 percent for trucks. But over the same period the number of highway lanes grew by only 4.4 percent. While the federal share of infrastructure investment has declined, total investment in infrastructure, adjusted for inflation, is the same as in 1968, just 2.5 percent of gross domestic product. And that’s when our population was just over 200 million. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that we need to spend $185 billion more every year just to repair our current infrastructure. Meanwhile, China is investing 9 percent of GDP in infrastructure, while Europe and India’s investment rates are 5 percent and 5 percent, respectively. We must get serious about our future and investing in our infrastructure. The first step is to craft a national strategy aimed at ensuring America’s long-term competitiveness. Ports, airports, freight rail, roads, bridges, water systems, and a modern electrical grid are essential infrastructure elements that must be central to a competitiveness strategy. Such a strategy would include a multiyear plan for smarter investment and prioritize the improvement projects necessary to increase exports and smooth transport of goods within the United States. The establishment of a National Infrastructure Bank would help ensure that the most economically beneficial projects receive priority attention in funding and construction. Building America’s Future, an organization that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and I formed, strongly supports the creation of this bank. The current project approvals process needs to be streamlined so that important projects can be built faster, and in a way that ensures our environment is safeguarded. It took only 437 days after the horrific 2007 collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis for the span to be rebuilt. This should serve as model for future projects. We can and we must shorten the time for completion of infrastructure projects. The challenges we face are great but so are the opportunities. A 21st century infrastructure provides greater reliability and more efficient movement of people and goods, and will keep America moving. It will also provide lasting economic dividends for future generations. Our nation’s economic competitiveness depends on it if we want to be on top in the global marketplace. Failure to achieve this goal is not an option. Directory: files files -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2 files -> Integer programming and game theory files -> 4 Integer Programming files -> Bpa vehicle Window Repair Scenario #1 task: Procure vehicle window relacement. Objective files -> Pop Warner History files -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose files -> Fall 2013 Spring 2014 Program Data: Standard 1 Exhibit 4d files -> Hanban – asia society confucius classrooms network 2010 request for proposal files -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations Download 1.1 Mb. Share with your friends:
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