Obama's Public Works Plan to Rebuild the Infrastructure

Last post I wrote about how a new stimulus package wouldn't be all that effective if so many jobs are going overseas due to outsourcing. Well, let's amend that a little bit.  Outsourcing is still a huge problem, but a stimulus package has the potential to be effective as well.  Ideally, we'd have both: cutting down on outsourcing and a new stimulus. But at the very least a new stimulus could create those jobs that are due to stick around in this country, and that's exactly what President Obama intends to do with his new public works plan.

Here's the lowdown.  Appropriately on Labor Day, Obama laid out the particulars about a $50 billion public works program.

Speaking to an audience at Laborfest in Milwaukee, Obama said, "I am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing America's roads, rails and runways for the long-term."

Though the president did not mention a price tag, published reports have placed it at $50 billion.

"Over the next six years, we are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads -- enough to circle the world six times," Obama said. "We're going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways -- enough to stretch coast-to-coast. We're going to restore 150 miles of runways and advance a next generation air-traffic control system to reduce travel time and delays for American travelers -- something I think folks across the political spectrum could agree on."

This is not just a way to "artificially" create jobs in a down economy when jobs are hard to find (though that's obviously part of it).  The country's infrastructure has some problems.  If you remember something like the Minneapolis bridge collapse, the infrastructure of our highways and bridges is in need of repair.  So fixing these things now could help curb more expensive costs--and even loss of life--down the line. A more efficient rail/highway system could ideally mean that the economy runs more efficiently. 

Lest you think this is all politics at work and Obama has only proposed this because the November election is looking bad for Democrats, this has been in the cards for years.  A public works program was a part of his initial presidential platform.  The argument against this plan is that it's expensive, though President Obama claims it will be paid for.  Generally, this type of public works program doesn't face huge opposition, as the nation's infrastructure is definitely in need of repair. This isn't really a "bailout" of any kind because the infrastructure is government property, as opposed to throwing money at the auto industry.  In a sense, the nation's bridges and roads are "too big to fail."  They really do need to keep working.

Now if only he'd work on the outsourcing issue. Outsourcing work on the nation's roads and bridges will probably never happen, but those jobs that can be performed somewhere else need to remain in this country.