Obama banks on large public works project
Posted by John Malloy on 12/07/2008
CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama said Saturday he wants to revive the economy through a job-creating public works plan on a scale unseen since the building program of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.
He offered no price estimate for the grand plan, how the money might be divided or the effect on the country’s financial health at a time of burgeoning deficits.
The ideas were outlined in the weekly radio address the day after the government reported that employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years. They are part of a vision for a massive economy recovery plan Mr. Obama wants Congress to pass and have waiting on his desk when he takes office Jan. 20.
The president-elect’s address never once used the word “spend,” relying instead on “invest” or “investments,” and pledging wise stewardship of taxpayer money in upgrading roads and schools, and making public buildings more energy-efficient.
“We won’t just throw money at the problem,” Mr. Obama said. “We’ll measure progress by the reforms we make and the results we achieve – by the jobs we create, by the energy we save, by whether America is more competitive in the world.”
Mr. Obama said his plan would employ millions of people by “making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s.” He said state officials would lose the federal dollars if they did not quickly use the money to repair highways and bridges.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, a 1991 final estimate of the cost of the interstate system put it at $128.9-billion (U.S.), with a federal share of $114.3-billion. The estimate covered only the distance (67,500 kilometres) built under the interstate construction program. Construction of the system began in 1956 under President Dwight Eisenhower…
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