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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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 OPINION 
1

Infrastructure Revitalization Is Right and Right

A conservative argues for investing in water, energy, transport

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(Newser) – Conservatives who fear that investing in the nation’s infrastructure goes against core Reaganite values need to get over it. Our aging energy, water, and transportation systems are in dire need of corporate dollars and ingenuity, but “the private sector alone cannot handle the job—and the states are not appropriate venues for much of the prioritization that must occur,” former assistant Treasury secretary Emil Henry Jr. argues in the Washington Post.

“Economic conservatives recognize the difference between spending and investment,” Henry writes. “Like the maintenance of a strong military—investment that protects prosperity—investment in key infrastructure is consistent with Reagan principles. Moreover, such ‘expansion’ would promote several conservative ideals: economic growth, energy independence, national security, and U.S. competitiveness.”

A construction crew works under an Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia. One in every four US bridges needs to be modernized or repaired, which experts estimate will cost at least $140 billion.
A construction crew works under an Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia. One in every four US bridges needs to be modernized or repaired, which experts estimate will cost at least $140 billion.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
This recent but undated picture provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shows a pipe leak in a cooling tower at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
This recent but undated picture provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shows a pipe leak in a cooling tower at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.   (AP Photo/Nuclear Regulatory Commission via U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders)
This April 2007 photograph supplied by the Tennessee Valley Authority, shows the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens, Ala. TVA expects to soon return the plant's Unit 1 reactor to service after a five-year, $1.8 billion makeover. It could mark the beginning of a nuclear power revival in the...
This April 2007 photograph supplied by the Tennessee Valley Authority, shows the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens, Ala. TVA expects to soon return the plant's Unit 1 reactor to service after a five-year,...   (AP Photo/Tennessee Valley Authority)
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Many conservatives are uneasy with such talk. They argue that such spending is an ineffective economic stimulus. They miss the bigger point: Our infrastructure needs are at a critical juncture. - Emil W. Henry Jr., former assistant Treasury secretary

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1 comment
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Vostok
Dec 8, 08 9:15 PM CST
LOL. Well thats a lovely little rationalization now isn't it? Its an "investment". So let me get this straight. The private sector NEEDS the public sector because it CAN'T handle everything? The glorious Free-Market that we've been hearing about for the last few decades CAN'T do EVERYTHING better than the Government? The conservatives need to get over themselves and admit they were wrong. They were wrong about Deregulation, they were wrong about Globalization, they were wrong about Privatization, and lets not forget the culmination of that wrongness: George W. Bush. While they were dismissing leftists as unpatriotic he played them like a fiddle and screwed this nation. Let the record state that Jimmy Carter was a thousand times better for this nation than Bush, and that a leftist mistake is ALWAYS better than a right mistake. Reply
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