Day: 2011-02-16

State Roads to Economic Recovery: Policies, Pavements, and Partnerships – Brookings Institution

| David Levinson

Brookings Institution will be hosting an event on State Roads to Economic Recovery: Policies, Pavements, and Partnerships – Brookings Institution.
Event Information
When Friday, February 25, 2011 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Where Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC

As the U.S. economy begins a slow climb to recovery, state and local governments are still reeling from the impact of the Great Recession. Revenues have plunged while the demand for key state and local services has soared. Meanwhile, unemployment remains stubbornly high.
On Friday, February 25, The Hamilton Project and the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings will host a forum on state strategies that can help close budget deficits while also growing state economies and creating much-needed jobs. Brookings Vice President Bruce Katz will moderate a panel of policy experts and state leaders, including former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, now a senior fellow at Brookings, and Michael Finney, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The panel will discuss a range of fiscally responsible policy ideas to build the foundation for the next economy.
A second panel of economic experts, moderated by Hamilton Project Director Michael Greenstone, will discuss three new policy proposals to help state and local governments invest more efficiently in infrastructure to promote their long-term economic competitiveness. These papers provide a new approach to arranging public private partnerships to create greater public value and reduce risks; a reorganization of our national highway infrastructure priorities; and the establishment of a not-for-profit, independent advisory firm that would help reduce borrowing costs for municipalities and increase returns for investors. Former Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation Tyler Duvall will serve as a discussant for the proposals.

I will not be at the event in person, though I will be there in spirit and online, while Matt Kahn presents our joint paper, which is almost ready to be released.
(This is probably the most important work ever to be written on highway finance by two authors who walk to work).

Fla. scraps high-speed rail plan pushed by Obama

| David Levinson

From AP Fla. scraps high-speed rail plan pushed by Obama

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Rick Scott canceled plans for a high-speed train line between Orlando and Tampa promoted by President Barack Obama, saying Wednesday it would cost the state too much even with $2.4 billion in federal help.
Cost overruns could put Florida on the hook for another $3 billion and once completed, there’s a good chance ridership won’t pay for the operating cost, meaning the state would have to pump more money into the line each year, Scott said.
“The truth is that this project would be far too costly to taxpayers and I believe the risk far outweighs the benefits,” the Republican governor said in a press release issued after he informed U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood of his decision.

It seems the federal government is having money “giving away” money for high speed rail. The federal government really should have focused on the Northeast Corridor, where it at least has a fighting chance.