I attended the “Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure for Global Competitiveness” 2009 National Infrastructure Conference yesterday in Washington, D.C.
And the two biggest points that came out of were: They’ve supposedly shown us the money (for now) with investment from the stimulus bill, but there’s still the question of how we are going to pay for it. Then there’s still the problem of solving the long-term transportation capacity crisis.
Not to be greedy, but the money set aside for infrastructure in the stimulus package is a start, but it barely puts a dent in the money needed for infrastructure in the United States while other countries are roaring full-speed ahead.
The Highway Trust Fund is still going to go bust, and we stand to lose highway investment by nearly half. And there’s still that pesky reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU. And we all know it’s going to be a long, uphill struggle–hopefully this time without 12 extensions throughout a two-year period.
Oh, then there’s the recent decision by the Obama Administration to take other solutions off of the table. First, let me preface this by saying, I really don’t look forward to creating any new expenses for myself, especially in this current rotten economy. And I certainly am enjoying the lower costs at the gas pump after paying out nearly $4.50 a gallon in some parts of Chicago this past summer.
But…there’s always a but isn’t there?…but increasing the gas tax was a possible solution–albeit maybe not popular–to solve some of the Highway Trust Fund solvency problems. Just in the short-term. It’s certainly not meant to be a long-term solution.
