From today’s Globe
Governor Deval Patrick plans today to unveil a $3.8 billion bond proposal to repair 411 deteriorating bridges throughout the state over the next eight years, a project he will argue not only improves road safety but also pumps cash into the economy to buffer Massachusetts from a recession.
The massive repair and reconstruction of bridges in virtually every corner of the state would create 23,000 direct construction jobs, according to a preliminary draft of the governor’s plan, which is significantly higher than the 5,000 employed at the height of the Big Dig.
I think if there is a time to deficit-finance, it is now. I just hope that some money will go toward UMass Amherst infrastructure- we’re still living in East Berlin circa 1969 here.
Imagine the boom just from the paid trooper details!
That’s the motto in Texas. In Massachusetts, it’s One Bridge; one trooper.
We need infrastructure improvements badly and it’s at a perfect time to create the construction jobs..
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p>I never understood why conservatives, so big on the idea of people investing their money, never see the value of people investing in infrastructure. Sure, you don’t get a certificate you can later sell but everything else you own is more valuable for being in a better system.
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p>Big dig.
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p>People invest; the government spends.
Two more words: Comcast, Verizon
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p>Big Dig of course being a worst case scenario, do you honestly believe that private companies are that much more efficient once you get into really big infrastructure projects? I bet your cable bill went up by a higher % than your taxes this year, and our internet connectivity and broadband speed is still lightyears behind most european and advanced asian countries.
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p>So how’re we gonna fix the roads and rail lines?
I’m not opposed to roads, etc. As a matter of fact, I’m planning on looking to the Legislation to see if there’s any room for $$ to pave my road!
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p>My criticism above was directed at the troopers to guard the construction sites and bridges. Even while the legislation is being drafted, I’m sure the Troopers are lined up as well as unions who are lined up for prevailing wage.
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p>I’m not even opposed to borrowing the $3.8 billion. Even though Mass does have the highest debt per person of any state, it does have a AA+ Bonding rating on general obligation bonds.
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p>But seriously, must we have concrete bridges at gold leaf prices? That’s the conservative view to which I subscribe.
Isn’t necessarily a conservative or liberal thing. I could quite easily counter with some much-bigger dollar items from the defense budget that dwarf any malfeasance in pursuit of “liberal” goals like roads and rails. I agree with you on the details and so does just about everybody who has their head screwed on straight, you’ll see the more liberal posters here being very much against it. Just, you know, the system’s not perfect, inertia and the unions are both powerful forces. We’ll keep trying on the police detail thing and with any luck eventually we’ll win.
I did so myself over on another blog. The more I think about this proposal, the more I like it. A friend pointed out two advantages beyond the economic stimulus and the safer infrastructure: that such repairs may get more expensive if they’re put off longer, and that investing in existing infrastructure, rather than new infrastructure, is a non-sprawl-promoting approach to development.
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p>Of course, if this money were going into public transit, I might like it even more, but…
Yes, our bridges, roads, highways, etc, are in extremely bad shape, and money has to go towards reparing them, which will create jobs in the process, without depending on seedy casinos to create jobs here in the state. Too bad that the Big Dig cost so much that there’s not enough affordable housing here in the city for people who need it. One needs to bear in mind that there are/have been some pretty serious structral defects in the Big Dig, also.