The Week: Most Recent public-investment

High-speed rail: Financial suicide for California?

The Week — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:54:00 -0400

Lawmakers in California have approved $4.6 billion in bond sales to finance construction of a high-speed rail that is supposed to link San Francisco and Los Angeles by 2032. (Upping the ante, Amtrak has proposed a $151 billion plan to bring the bullet train to the East Coast.) In 2008, Californians supported the project, voting to approve $10 billion in bonds, which would be combined with $3.3 billion promised by the federal government. But California residents have since turned against high-speed rail — the projected cost has shot up to $68 billion, from an original $33 billion, and the...

A high-speed derailment in California

The Week — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:30:00 -0400

The Los Angeles Times editorial board almost got the big picture on the state's high-speed rail plan this week. The editors decried the sadly predictable results of sinking vast amounts of money into government boondoggles, with consequences including political decisions on routing and location, spiraling costs, and bad management.

The conclusion reached by the editors? Let's have a different government agency try running it instead.

So close — and yet so far.

California's high-speed rail project has lots of problems, but its most basic is purpose. The project proposes to connect...

Is John Kerry's 'infrastructure bank' a waste of federal cash?

The Week — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:40:00 -0400

President Obama wants federal funds to go to large-scale infrastructure projects. Republicans say such spending is irresponsible. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) may have come up with a compromise. He and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) have proposed an "infrastructure bank" to provide loans and loan guarantees to private companies for bridge, highway, and rail projects. The bank, which would be run by an independent authority, would use around $10 billion in public money to try and attract as much as $640 billion in private investment over 10 years. Could this be an alternative to more stimulus...

Can 'Mad Men' sell high-speed trains?

The Week — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:55:00 -0500

The video: President Obama is having a little trouble selling America — especially Republicans — on his idea of connecting America by high-speed rail. Enter fictional ad men Pete Campbell and Harry Crane, of AMC's "Mad Men." In a video from Funny or Die and public-interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG (view below), the characters (played by Vincent Kartheiser and Rich Sommer) discuss ways to hype the benefits of high-speed trains to the public. "Why are you worrying about this?" Crane asks. "Trains make sense. They're efficient, they're convenient, they're good for jobs.... We don't need...

Why does the right wing hate trains?

The Week — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:42:00 -0500

What do conservatives have against rail travel, asks Dave Weigel at Slate. Republican governors like John Kasich (Ohio), Scott Walker (Wisconsin) and Rick Scott (Florida) have all rejected stimulus funding for high-speed rail projects since being elected last year. The Republican Study Committee now wants the government to yank funding from Amtrak, and the president's $53 billion proposal to boost high-speed rail has been met with a chorus of boos from the opposition. Why exactly does the right wing hate trains?

The Right considers trains a poor investment: Conservatives don't like trains for economic...

Obama's $53 billion high-speed rail plan: 'Keep dreaming'

The Week — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:44:00 -0500

Vice President Joe Biden announced this week that the White House would seek $53 billion over the next six years to develop a network of high-speed trains across America. Obama has long championed bullet trains, but continues to face tough opposition from Republicans, who quickly pounced on Biden's announcement. House Transportation Committee Chairman John L. Mica said that, given past government failures, "This is like giving Bernie Madoff another chance at handling your investment portfolio." Does the new round of high-speed rail funding stand a chance? (Watch Biden's comments)

No way: Republicans...

America: A country that can't build anything anymore

The Week — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:01:00 -0400

"This country can't build stuff the way it used to," argues Jonah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times. Big public-works projects that once were quick and commonplace have now turned into logistical and financial nightmares that drag on decades. And don't buy the line from the "liberal intelligentsia" that "anti-government" conservatism is to blame. The real reason? Unions, environmental regulations, and other government "bloat" have hardened "Uncle Sam's arteries." Here, an excerpt:

It took 410 days to build the Empire State Building; four years to erect the Golden Gate Bridge. The Pentagon took...

America's creaking infrastructure: By the numbers

The Week — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:00:00 -0400

President Obama announced a $50 billion package last week to improve America's roads, railways, and more. And there couldn't be a better time to do it, says Ben Adler at Newsweek. "From the New Orleans levees breaking to the Minneapolis bridge collapsing," it's become increasingly apparent that our infrastructure is in "disrepair." Here is a look at some of the numbers behind what needs to be done:

$2.2 trillion
Total investment needed in next five years to bring America's infrastructure up to snuff, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers

$1.57
Amount returned to...

Obama's new infrastructure plan: By the numbers

The Week — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:27:00 -0400

With the midterm elections nearing and unemployment hovering just under 10 percent, President Obama has proposed a one-year $50 billion investment in America's transportation infrastructure to spur the economy and create jobs. The focus of the would be on building and repairing roads, train tracks, and air-traffic control systems, with at least some of the money doled out by a government-run "infrastructure bank." Here's a numerical look at the proposal:

150,000
Miles of roadway to be built or refurbished under the plan

150
Airport runways to be upgraded

4,000
Miles of railway to be built or repaired...

The Empire State Building's 'ugly' twin

The Week — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:20:00 -0400

New York City has approved the construction of a skyscraper just blocks away from the Empire State Building that will tower almost to the beloved icon's height. The Empire State Building's owners petitioned the city not to approve the rival tower, claiming it would diminish the status of New York's most famous skyscraper. Despite its planning victory, 15 Penn Plaza is unlikely to be built for several years. Should it be built at all? (See the view from the top of the Empire State Building)

This building will ruin New York's iconic skyline: "What an example of shortsightedness," says Jon Gethner...