Instead of rebates, lets fix our infrastructure and put people back to work.

With the news that every working American will get a rebate check from Uncle Sam..eventually, it made me wonder just how far $600 is supposed to go to ‘fix’ our economy? To some of us, the economy has been in the crapper for quite awhile now. Choosing between paying bills, filling the gas tank, buying medication and putting food on the table has been the problem of many American’s for some time now.

The Senate seems to realize that only putting money in the pockets of those that work will not be enough. As they fight it out in Congress over the next couple of weeks we can all watch to see the final outcome. Will they extend unemployment for those hit by the dive of the housing market? The ripple effect of that debacle is far-reaching. My local newspaper has laid off almost half their staff and they point squarely to the housing downturn as the reason for the layoffs. Unemployment numbers fed to us by the federal government are notoriously skewed since they do not count people who have used up their unemployment benefits. New job growth is in the same boat since it only counts numbers, not the quality of those jobs created.

Meanwhile, many of us think the economy needs more than a stimulus package that most likely will come in the form of another loan from who else..China. Meanwhile, there is a bill out there that would create jobs and fix our nations infrastructure, its called the Dodd-Hagel National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007, or S 1926. It was introduced into committee back in August of last year. The American Society of Civil Engineers explains it this way:

The bill, S. 1926, would create the National Infrastructure Bank as an independent entity of the federal government. The bank would be required to evaluate and fund “capacity-building infrastructure projects of substantial regional and national significance.”

Infrastructure projects with a potential federal investment of at least $75 million would be submitted to the bank by a project sponsor, state, locality, tribe, or local infrastructure agency, e.g., a transit agency. To determine a level of federal investment, the bank would employ a sliding-scale method that incorporates conditions such as the type of infrastructure system or systems, project location, project cost, current and projected usage, non-federal revenue, regional or national significance, promotion of economic growth and community development, reduction in traffic congestion, environmental benefits, land use policies that promote smart growth, and mobility improvements

Now, I don’t pretend to understand how it all works, I just know that our infrastructure is toast and too many Americans are unemployed or working at jobs that don’t pay them enough to live a decent life. This bill was introduced right around the time of the Minneapolis bridge collapse and the underground steam pipe in Midtown Manhattan explosion which killed one woman but didn’t get a lot of attention in the news. In fact, the announcement of this bill by Chris Dodd and Chuck Hagel didn’t get shit for media attention either. From a NYT OpEd on the bill: Only a handful of reporters showed up to listen to their contention that a real crisis was at hand. That evening, during rush hour, the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed, plunging vehicles 60 feet into the river and killing 13 people.- Scary no? Well, it freaked me out how apropos the timing was of the announcement of this bill.

A bill that still languishes in committee. A bill that would lift our people and our infrastructure out of the dark ages. A bill that would go farther to fix our economy than ridiculous rebate checks. A bill that would possibly make sure we do not see any more “Katrina-like” debacles in our lifetime.

The bill was also introduced in the House by Keith Ellison where it also sits in committee and rots. H.R. 3401 and its Senate sister bill need to be brought out of committee and acted on. I am tired of bandaid’s being applied to our nation’s problems. I am really tired of the federal government handing out corporate welfare while the humans in our nation bust their asses to make ends meet while wages stagnant. I am really sick and tired of the bullshit that passes as a quick-fix or completely ignores the following problems:

According to the Federal Transit Administration, $21.8 billion is needed annually over the next 20 years to maintain and improve the operational capacity of transit systems.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are 1.2 million units of public housing with critical capital needs totaling $18 billion.

According to the Texas Transportation Institute, the average traveler is delayed 51.5 hours annually due to traffic and infrastructure-related congestion in the nation’s 20 largest metropolitan areas. The delays range from 93 hours in Los Angeles to 14 hours in Pittsburgh. Combined, these delays waste 1.78 billion gallons of fuel each year and waste almost $50.3 billion in congestion costs.

Furthermore, the average delay in these metropolitan areas has increased by almost 35.3 hours since 1982.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, $131.7 billion and $9.4 billion is needed respectively every year over the next 20 years to repair deficient roads and bridges. The average age of bridges is 40 years.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, $151 billion and $390 billion is needed respectively every year over the next 20 years to repair obsolete drinking water and wastewater systems. Drinking water and wastewater systems range in age from 50 to 100 years in age.

We could fix these problems and put American’s to work. Its a win-win situation. Yet the bills languish in committees. Its wrong on every level, especially now my dear reader.