Nice Article On Infrastructure

The Christian Science Monitor had a nice piece on infrastructure funding. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0810/p03s01-usec.htm

A word about infrastructure

I have posted before about the need for the 2008 presidential candidates to develop an infrastructure plan. http://greenlaw.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-want-hillary-clintons-50-billion.html

This country simply cannot go on allowing our infrastructure to age and fail, as has happened twice in the past two weeks--the explosion in New York and the bridge collapse in Minnesota. Years and years of cutting taxes and underfunding capital infrastructure like sewage, rail, etc., is going to create more failures--and potentially more tragedies--until the issue is addressed.

I Want Hillary Clinton's $50 Billion

On Monday, Hillary Clinton reiterated her proposal to "establish a $50 billion 'Strategic Energy Fund' that would create a research agency focused on reducing the threat of global warming." Among other things, Clinton proposed "spending $1 billion a year to improve energy efficiency in schools and other public buildings." http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/07/24/clinton_proposes_1_billion_green_building_fund/

According to the Boston Globe, Senator Clinton proposed paying for the initiative by taxing oil company profits. "Oil companies...would face a choice: invest $20 billion in alternative fuel technology and build cleaner refineries or pay taxes on some of their profits."

As I have said many times before, the government's spending power is a powerful thing, and I support the Senator's plan. And I am also in favor of creating a economic system under which the true cost of petroleum products is included in the price, including taxes and environmental impact.

But I am concerned that I haven't heard anything about changing the investment in infrastructure. The government must not only stop subsidizing the oil companies, but must also decrease investment in highway building and increase investment in alternative transportation mechanisms to reduce our oil dependency. It is absurd that it takes 1.5 hours and $100+ to travel 94 miles from New York to Philadelphia by train.

The presidential candidates need to examine the built environment and build a comprehensive plan, including legal and economic components, to address the global warming/sustainability issue