The Path to Change: Rebuilding our Nation

America, currently in a state of economic downfall and crumbling infrastructure, has never been in a more perfect situation to create crucial refinement in these fields. Over the last few months, there has been extensive talk about various plans to boost the economy and turn this country around. In a time of crisis such as this, it is important to create a steady foundation for America and it’s citizens. This is done by rebuilding America’s infrastructure or fundamental facilities and systems serving a country. In addition to infrastructure, the nation’s falling economy has not been this awful since the Great Depression. It is critical that this nation’s leaders come together and promote serious change.

    Few people acknowledge the nation’s infrastructure “until something goes wrong: you find yourself snarled in a traffic jam, or hear a report about a possible contaminate in the water supply, or become frustrated at your plane’s two-hour delay. But waiting until one of these works fails is a critical mistake”(Taraska 41). The biggest problem at hand is where would the money come from? According to the Los Angeles Times, “More than a quarter of the nation's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and it would take $65 billion to fix them all”("Americas Broken Infrastructure" 17). Bridges are just a small fraction of the total cost it would take to rebuild america’s infrastructure. Felix Rohatyn, the former US ambassador to France, stated on PBS NewsHour “it would take a $1.6 trillion dollars to bring the infrastructure of this country up to an acceptable level of decency. We're falling another $300 billion every two or three years behind because we don't provide adequate support to this problem. Now, I can also tell you that it's very difficult to do this if you religiously think that you can't raise taxes, and that you can't raise revenues,”(Rohatyn). President-elect Barrak Obama suggested a $700 Billion Infrastructure Plan that I feel is reasonable, but I also agree with Jerry Beilinson of Popular Mechanics Magazine “The money should be doled out slowly, a mere billion dollars at a time, and that means that thousands of potential projects will be considered and lobbied for”(Beilison). These projects, would create thousands of jobs which is very important in a time when so many bussiness are laying people off. Finally, “this infrastucture investment generates a healthy multiplier effect throughout the economy by creating demand for materials and services. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that for every $1 billion invested in federal highways, more than $6.2 billion in economic activity would be generated. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, estimates that every dollar of increased infrastructure spending would generate a $1.59 increase in GDP. By comparison, a combination of tax cuts and tax rebates is estimated to produce only 67 cents in demand for every dollar of lower taxes. Thus, by Zandi's conservative estimates, $150 billion in infrastructure spending would generate a nearly $240 billion increase (or close to a 2 percent increase) in GDP in the first year”(Dressel). These figures are significant in the over-all scope of this economy. The rebuilding of this nation’s infrastructure is an essential piece to the puzzle of this crisis.

    Americans have not seen the current down turn in this nation's economy since the 1920's. Politicians are struggling on which plans would give a boost to the economy. The answer in simple terms is, America spends too much and does not create enough. We live beyond our means, which is unsustainable. We create one debt after another and continue reckless spending and accumulation of debt. We must head directly to the problem of over-spending and under-producing.  In order for the budget to be balanced, America needs to begin producing some kind of manufactured export instead of importing almost all of our manufactured goods. For example, the auto industry, "a heavy emphasis on fuel-efficient technology and a focus on expanding the nation's lithium-ion battery production capacity pointed to an accelerated transition to market-friendly green vehicles"(Bomey 1). Simply, American auto companies need to produce a car that gets two-hundred miles-per gallon or better. According to Volkswagen “VW will sell a 200-mpg car in 2010”(Green 2). American auto companies need to get on track if they expect to locally produce a car that competes with foreign auto manufactures such as Volkswagen and Toyota. I feel that another key to boosting the economy is green energy research. According to Claude Mandil, executive director of the International Energy Agency, “through hydrogen fuel cells and biotechnology, we can accommodate the increase in global demand for energy services whilst decreasing global CO2 emissions^{”(Mandil 150).} This biotechnology or hydrogen fuel cell research would open a whole new market for exports. “We could use it to transform the entire energy infrastructure - it could supply power for cars, planes and boats, buildings and even portable gadgets, all without the need for dirty fossil fuels^{”(Strahan 40).} Solar energy is also option in renewable energy and could be a smart solution to cutting dependence on foreign oil. “The state of Ohio will give homeowners grants for wind and solar power^{”(Breckenridge 6).} Although it seems that these dark ages will only get darker, it is these little steps at a time during a long process that once achieved, can give Americans a feeling of gratitude to the earth that gives them so much.

    I feel that the economy hitting rock bottom and our infrastructure continuously worsening opened the eyes of the public. I feel that although it is a crisis, it may be a blessing in disguise. It took more than just economists’ warnings to get the attention of the American people. We waited until it was absolutely necessary to make our move. I hope that this gives us fresh start as we begin to rebuild our economy a little at a time. We are significantly in debt which will also have to be paid off as our economy improves. Overall, rebuilding our infrastructure and moving towards really advocating and requiring renewable and green energy is what will turn this nation back around. After all, we are the most powerful and creative nation in the world and now more than ever it is time to live up to that title.