It took a pandemic for some people to realize what PolitiDose has commented on for years, the need for infrastructure legislation. The latest comes from an opinion column in the New Orleans Advocate dated 5/15 by Tim Barfield, President of CSRS in Baton Rouge. His comments outline some of the benefits of such legislation but it goes way beyond that in terms of its importance to the economy and its far reaches into the future.
Every one who lives in Louisiana surely knows the failings of the state's infrastructure and every other state knows its own problems. So why did it take a pandemic to push the infrastructure button now? Those late voices should have known that during the 2016 Presidential election Hillary Clinton said infrastructure legislation would be her top priority and had a plan on the subject. She was aware that the economy in its 7th straight year of expansion (at that time) would need continued help to grow as economies are not self sustaining for ever. And infrastructure was a necessary and natural economic stimulus for the country and its people's progress. Those voices also knew Trump's priority was a tax cut and not an economic policy.
President Obama's $700 billion stimulus in response to the record recession he inherited from the Bush administration contained money to the states for infrastructure to put people back to work. We know from facts and past experience that stimulus money managed with policy in the right direction and use works far better than a tax cut that benefits those who need it the least. And we also know as fact President Obama's economy created more jobs in his last 38 months in office than Trump created in his first 38 months in office and that was before the coronavirus hit the U.S.
And in case any one has a lapse in memory, Speaker of the U.S. House, Nancy Pelosi, set up a meeting with Trump to talk about infrastructure legislation long ago which she supported from day one. And when Trump showed up at the meeting he engaged in a tirade unrelated to the meeting and stormed out before the meeting ever began. If Trump made his top priority infrastructure legislation after being elected instead of a tax cut, the nation would be in its fourth year of rebuilding, the burden of the coronavirus would be less and the economy and its people would be in better shape. And so would the federal government.
The voices of late are better than never, but should have made their thoughts known long ago because the problem is long range. Making decisions after the fact is not good policy regardless how you look at it.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
