Comments on: The right way to spend billions on infrastructure http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2008/12/10/the-right-way-to-spend-billions-on-infrastructure/ Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:40:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: george http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2008/12/10/the-right-way-to-spend-billions-on-infrastructure/comment-page-1/#comment-3127 george Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:12:06 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/?p=887#comment-3127 The question is whether or not infrastructure projects will create short to medium term jobs for American workers. There is no doubt that much infrastructure work needs to be done, but financial service workers or retail workers will not be building bridges. Construction workers will do the building. Even if efforts are made to ensure hiring of legal workers for government projects, the deficiency created in the private sector will be filled by undocumented workers. The question is whether or not infrastructure projects will create short to medium term jobs for American workers. There is no doubt that much infrastructure work needs to be done, but financial service workers or retail workers will not be building bridges. Construction workers will do the building. Even if efforts are made to ensure hiring of legal workers for government projects, the deficiency created in the private sector will be filled by undocumented workers.

]]> By: Dr.J.R.Banik http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2008/12/10/the-right-way-to-spend-billions-on-infrastructure/comment-page-1/#comment-3125 Dr.J.R.Banik Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:55:56 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/?p=887#comment-3125 Bailing out extremely sick financial world is not a soluton to this reccuring problem.Main culprit is corporate-capitalist LPG culuture Govts who are squandering away poor-middle classs people money to give a life boat to the Culprits-CEO,Auditors,Bankers who have been cream awawy the juice.Occassional mumur of control is heard but not so loudly.Everyone is happy with Neo-Kenesyia ecconomy fuelled by incresing consumer spending based on greed & lust- which will ead to modern civilisation demise. JRB Bailing out extremely sick financial world is not a soluton to this reccuring problem.Main culprit is corporate-capitalist LPG culuture Govts who are squandering away poor-middle classs people money to give a life boat to the Culprits-CEO,Auditors,Bankers who have been cream awawy the juice.Occassional mumur of control is heard but not so loudly.Everyone is happy with Neo-Kenesyia ecconomy fuelled by incresing consumer spending based on greed & lust- which will ead to modern civilisation demise. JRB

]]> By: turismo http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2008/12/10/the-right-way-to-spend-billions-on-infrastructure/comment-page-1/#comment-3124 turismo Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:48:21 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/?p=887#comment-3124 The inherent problem with infrastructure maintenance and building is that it is an elitist project. Big unions working for big companies (same problem as the auto industry) are inefficient, bloated, politically connected and prone to indifference. Big union jobs do not help the poor working stiff on main street. In fact, they do quite the opposite by restricting the labor pool. The same with big companies which repatriate their profits back to headquarters, and leave nothing in the local economy because the local guy can never get the contract. Infrastructure sounds like a good idea - in practical terms, it never works. The fat get fatter, and the poor get poorer - which is not an economic stimulus. The inherent problem with infrastructure maintenance and building is that it is an elitist project. Big unions working for big companies (same problem as the auto industry) are inefficient, bloated, politically connected and prone to indifference. Big union jobs do not help the poor working stiff on main street. In fact, they do quite the opposite by restricting the labor pool. The same with big companies which repatriate their profits back to headquarters, and leave nothing in the local economy because the local guy can never get the contract. Infrastructure sounds like a good idea – in practical terms, it never works. The fat get fatter, and the poor get poorer – which is not an economic stimulus.

]]> By: Don http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2008/12/10/the-right-way-to-spend-billions-on-infrastructure/comment-page-1/#comment-3116 Don Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:01:01 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/?p=887#comment-3116 Infrastructure spending is a bit like public-participation. Everybody feels that with more of it, our problems will disappear. Some folks think only if we could apply more regulations to protect the public, our problems will disappear. But surely all of us have encountered cities designed for growth that have great infrastructure but low populations and high unemployment. Infrastructure is a means to an end rather than an end in itself. There is significant likelihood of wasted infrastructure spending. My argument is, if we focus on innovation, infrastructure will take care of itself. When people consider something important enough, they will build roads and highways. So beyond the basics, I would be really careful about going overboard on infrastructure spending. Infrastructure spending is a bit like public-participation. Everybody feels that with more of it, our problems will disappear. Some folks think only if we could apply more regulations to protect the public, our problems will disappear. But surely all of us have encountered cities designed for growth that have great infrastructure but low populations and high unemployment.

Infrastructure is a means to an end rather than an end in itself. There is significant likelihood of wasted infrastructure spending. My argument is, if we focus on innovation, infrastructure will take care of itself. When people consider something important enough, they will build roads and highways. So beyond the basics, I would be really careful about going overboard on infrastructure spending.

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