Public Infrastructure

Infrastructure and Economic Opportunity

Throughout American history, infrastructure investment has played a critical role in economic development. As the nation moved west, the building of canals and turnpikes, followed by construction of railroads, expanded the field of economic opportunity. Later, investment in electricity and telephone networks facilitated the development of vast expanses of the American landscape that had previously been left behind. More recently, the national interstate highway system and now the continuing build-out of broadband telecommunications networks have enabled the de-clustering of many business endeavors that were once… more

On September 12, the New America Foundation launched a new report, “The Heartland Development Bank,” by Delore Zimmerman, President of Praxis Strategy Group, and New America Foundation senior fellow Joel Kotkin. The proposed Development Bank is designed to address the United States’ growing population over the next fifty years by encouraging investment in infrastructure, energy, and innovative industries in the area commonly referred to as America’s Heartland. Joined by Mayor Dennis Donohue of Salinas, California and Sherle Schwenninger, Director… more

Washington, DC--America's economy is in serious trouble, and it will take more than the standard countercyclical measures to fix it. The nation today is mired in a post-bubble economy, and needs a bold and optimistic economic recovery plan that goes beyond conventional thinking. This new proposal from the New America Foundation offers exactly that. In "An Economic Recovery Program for the Post-Bubble Economy" -- the first proposal in New America's new Big Ideas series -- Bernard L. Schwartz and Sherle R. Schwenninger warn of… more

Monday's embrace of covered bonds by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and senior representatives of the Fed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the country's largest banks to help thaw the U.S. mortgage market is a laudable step, appealing to market proponents and skeptics alike. Introducing covered bonds to the U.S. is a great idea. In fact, covered bonds can help more than just the mortgage market. At its most basic, a covered bond is a bond issued by a bank and backed by… more

There is a groundswell of support across the United States for a thorough upgrade to America's infrastructure. Today, at 3 p.m CST, New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (D-CA), and Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) are calling on presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain to join a coalition of political leaders calling for a infrastructure overhaul. Sherle Schwenninger, director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation, can provide context to… more

* This article is adapted from Reihan Salam's and Ross Douthat's Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream.

It was only four years ago that conservatives -- and a great many liberals -- were convinced that the Democratic party was doomed to become a purely regional institution: "a national party no more," to borrow the title of Georgia Democrat-turned-Bush supporter Zell Miller's 2003 memoir. Pundits brandished county-by-county maps showing blue enclaves… more

Chairman, Oberstar, Representative Mica, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today on the question of "financing infrastructure investments."

Over the past several decades, we have accumulated a sizeable public infrastructure deficit. As a result, a variety of infrastructure bottlenecks-traffic congested roads, clogged ports, and an antiquated air traffic system, to mention just a few-have begun to undercut our economy's efficiency and undermine our quality of life.

One of the reasons for this infrastructure deficit is that our system… more

To paraphrase an old axiom: You don’t buy water, you only rent it. So why did Americans spend nearly $11 billion on bottled water in 2006, when we could have guzzled tap water at up to about one ten-thousandth the cost? The facile answer is marketing, marketing and more marketing, but Elizabeth Royte goes much deeper into the drink in “Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It,” streaming trends cultural, economic, political and hydrological into an… more

Today the New America Foundation released a policy paper by Douglas Rediker and Heidi Crebo-Rediker, co-directors of the New America Foundation's Global Strategic Finance Initiative. The executive summary is pasted below. Also, see a PDF of the entire policy paper: http://www.newamerica.net/files/Financing_America_Infrastructure.PDF

Contact: Erin Drankoski, 202-997-8727, drankoski@newamerica.net. For further information on New America's Global Strategic Finance Initiative and Economic Growth Program, click here.

Executive Summary

America's basic infrastructure is outdated, worn, and in some cases, failing. Most experts… more