THE MATTER OF NATIONAL PRIORITIES

In a recent article, columnist David Brooks argues that over the next several years, five major problems face the US and in each case the US government must be compelled to act forcefully and decisively:  (1)  Health care reform; (2)  the energy shortage; 3)  the stagnation of human capital, whereby the US no longer boasts of the best-educated citizenry; (4)  the need for financial market reform.  The US government is increasingly guaranteeing against failure several key financial institutions (e.g., Bear Stearns and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).  (5)  Infrastructure reform.  The US transportation system is in shambles and is in desperate need of direction and leadership.  All of this demands an activist role for the national government.  This nation does not need change for the sake of change; it needs measured, careful reform of these five key areas if the traditional morality and vision of America is to be maintained. 

Permit me to use the nation’s infrastructure as an example of my point.  A recent US Chamber of Commerce report illustrates the depths of the challenge:  An overloaded rail infrastructure that needs new tracks, signals, tunnels and bridges.  Most US ports need dredging, while almost half of all canal locks are obsolete.  “While China is spending nearly 9% of its GDP on infrastructure, Americans lose $9 billion [some say $15 billion] a year in productivity from flight delays alone.”  In 2005, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated that $1.6 trillion was needed over five years to bring just the existing infrastructure into good repair.  This of course ignores all future needs of the US economy.  Consider this sobering reality:  By 2020 freight volumes are projected to be 70% greater than in 1998.  The Economist reports that by 2050 America’s population is expected to reach 420 million, 50% more than in 2000.  Much of this growth will take place in metropolitan areas, where the infrastructure is already run down.  Indeed, Robert Yaro of the Regional Plan Association contends that, if America does not act now to correct this huge infrastructure challenge, it will have the infrastructure of a third-world nation within a few decades!

Consider these facts:

1. America invests a mere 2.4% of GDP on its infrastructure, compared with 5% for Europe and 9% for China.
2. America’s aging water infrastructure is sorely underfunded.  The Environmental Protection Agency forecasts an $11 billion annual gap in meeting costs over the next 20 years.
3. The nation’s transport network is similarly dysfunctional.  Important gateways, such as ports in Los Angeles and New York, are choked.
4. Congestion on roads costs $78 billion annually in the form of $.2 billion lost hours and 2.9 billion gallons of wasted gasoline.
5. Although train traffic for human transportation is growing, railways are old and not very functional.  Indeed, America’s only “high-speed” train runs between Boston and Washington, D.C. on an inadequate track.  My son lives in London, England now and he can take a high-speed train from London to Paris in two hours.  The US has nothing even comparable to that!

What is to be done?  As David Brooks points out, the US must accept an activist national government, but one that has as its goal the preservation of an entire way of life.  We need decisive, visionary leadership; leaders who do not preach just change, but governmental leaders that honor private property and individual initiative.  We do not need socialism; we need a strategic plan that sets measurable goals to rebuild this nation’s infrastructure.  For example, in January a national commission on transport policy recommended that the government should invest at least $225 billion each year for the next 50 years.  (Today, we spend less than 40% of that amount.)  Obviously, these investments must concentrate on the major metro areas, where 65% of the population lives and 75% of the economic output is located. 

These matters must be discussed and must be at the center of the upcoming presidential election.  Leaders do not ignore challenges; they face them head on with reasonable solutions that will achieve measurable goals.  Funding for these projects must be a combination of the gasoline tax, private capital, and increased user fees.  Introducing “road pricing” in just the largest 98 metropolitan areas would generate some $120 billion a year.  Both Barack Obama and John McCain have discussed infrastructure issues, but neither has a well-integrated plan.  Ed Rendell, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Bloomberg, who lead Pennsylvania, California and New York City respectively, have launched a coalition to make infrastructure a national priority. 

The US simply can no longer ignore this enormous need.  Infrastructure must be one of the national priorities.  In 1808 Thomas Jefferson cast a vision for a nation connected by roads and canals, which helped set the direction for national policy for the next century and helped produce the transcontinental rail system.  Dwight Eisenhower laid out the vision for a national interstate highway system that literally transformed this nation.  Such visions stand in stark contrast to our leaders today.  There is a vacuum of national leadership right now.  We need visionary leaders who will face the infrastructure issue and propose solutions to solve and fund this needed reform.  If we do not get that kind of leader, the US infrastructure will soon resemble that of a third world nation!