Congratulations Arnold ! It requires a lot of courage to make bold and independent decisions. What you are trying to do, makes perfect sense. Consumerism leads to money going to China; whereas infrastruture spending leads to money being circulated among Americans (a little part might ultimatelybe used to buy Chinese goods). For govt. spending, think of some applicaion fee/ recertification fee for the non-status (illegal) immigrants. If they can rent an apartment, admit their kids in schools, get driving licenses, there could be a way to timpose an annual fee on this category while they remain on the list of wait-ins. Consider a $1000 a year a family. This could results in billions a year;for govt spendindg.
Paul Sakuma/AP Photo Pool
Gov. Schwarzenegger examines a rebuilt section of California's freeway system that collapsed when a gas truck crashed and burst into flames.
POLITICS
Building Back
How investment in infrastructure will boost the economy.
Dec 17, 2008
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America has failed to invest in its infrastructure for the past 50 years, and the bill is coming due. The situation is reminiscent of the ancient Roman Empire, which grew strong because of its advanced aqueduct system, but which fell into decline when that feat of engineering tumbled into disrepair. We're in danger of repeating that history, but it's not too late to fix the problem if we take decisive action now.
That's why Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, New York CityMayor Michael Bloomberg and I formed Building America's Future earlier this year. Long before any of us realized we were in a recession, the three of us—a Republican, Democrat and an Independent—understood that America needs a large-scale, immediate investment in our nation's roads, schools, parks, hospitals, waterways, ports and more. We are extremely pleased to have heard President-elect Barack Obama pledge to do just that as part of his economic recovery plan. In fact, it's exactly what I talked to President-elect Obama about when I joined the nation's other governors in Philadelphia earlier this month.
Our infrastructure is more than just a quality-of-life issue. It is an economic issue. Americans waste billions of dollars while semi-trucks carry goods on gridlocked roads and lose millions of gallons of water in leaky old pipes. We lose time and dollars because our ports are not computerized or modern enough to meet today's demands. Our businesses lose real dollars because our buildings are not energy efficient. This kind of waste raises the costs of everything from clothing to cars to raw carrots. It's clear that the faster we can move people and goods, the stronger our economy is. In short, we are a dinosaur economy trying to compete in a space-age global environment.
We live in the country that first landed a man on the moon, that is responsible for the mass-produced automobile and that created the Internet. So why do we sit bumper to bumper on the freeway for two or three hours in order to get home from work during rush hour?
We're a society where e-mail, handheld devices, videoconferencing and thousands of satellites in orbit keep us connected. So why do Americans stand in long security lines at the airport, in our socks, just to sit in the terminal for hours as our flights get delayed because of overcrowded airport runways?
None of this makes sense in America. It doesn't make sense that in the greatest country on Earth we still rely on trains that go the same speed as they did 100 years ago, so our shipping times and commutes are longer than other countries. It doesn't make sense that we drive across unsafe bridges like the one that collapsed in Minnesota and live behind inadequate levees like those that failed in New Orleans.
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