Obama Pledges Massive Public Works Initiative to Spur U.S. Economy (video)

Building the Green Economy, Quipu Economic Forum :: Comments (0)

8 December 2008 :: by J.E. Robertson

CafeSentido.com :: US president-elect Barack Obama pledged on Saturday, in his weekly radio and web address, to initiate a massive public works program to help create jobs, build a greener economy, restore US industrial relevance and spur economic growth. The plan announced by Obama would also require that states who participate in the massive investment in new and upgraded infrastructure use the money quickly or lose the funding. [continues below ↓]

Obama’s announcement of a massive public works initiative came just one day after the latest government employment report cited 533,000 jobs lost in the month of November alone, bringing the total net jobs loss for 2008 to 1.9 million, with potentially the worst month yet to come and two of the three Detroit automakers warning they could file for bankruptcy by the end of the year. The focus of the infrastructure program was less specific about green projects, but is expected to include a heavy focus on promoting renewable energy technologies.

First, Obama said he would “launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient.” He specified that the US “government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs”, which he said would save “billions of dollars each year” and also create much needed jobs to slow the economic downturn and speed recovery.

In the second part of his plan, he announced:

we will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways, and we’ll set a simple rule – use it or lose it. If a state doesn’t act quickly to invest in roads and bridges in their communities, they’ll lose the money.

An inventive part of his infrastructure investment plan includes “the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen.” The president-elect promised to upgrade schools that are behind the times or in ill-repair, set new standards for energy-efficiency, retrofitting buildings with new technology and ensuring that classrooms are computer-equipped.

In a sense, he picks up the mantle of the Clinton-Gore years, “building a bridge to the 21st century”, decrying the poor job of overseeing and maintaining America’s schools in recent years and calling for a nationwide effort to make sure children in 21st century America attend schools that are not only safe and modern, but equipped with 21st-century technology, learning aids and access to the “information superhighway”.