Bank plan would help build bridges, boost jobs

pmsNBC ^ | 7-6-11 | Anika Anand

[WOBBLY BOB]

The idea of such a bank has been around since the 1990s but has never gained significant attention until now. In March a bipartisan bill was introduced in the Senate that gained the support of the US Chamber of Commerce, America’s leading business lobby, and the AFL-CIO, the country’s largest labor federation — two groups on opposite sides of most debates.

The BUILD Act, proposed by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Kay Hutchinson, R-Texas, and Mark Warner, D-Va., would create a national infrastructure bank that would provide loans and loan guarantees to encourage private investment in upgrading America’s infrastructure. There are other similar proposals circulating in Congress, but the BUILD Act has gained the most traction.

[WOBBLY BOB]

The creation of a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank was first proposed by United States Senator Christopher J. Dodd and Senator Chuck Hagel in 2007. However, several other iterations of a National Infrastructure Bank have been proposed and considered[1] and it is likely that implementing legislation for the Bank will look quite different from that which was proposed in the original legislation. Barack Obama backed the proposed legislation in February 2008 and repeated his call in September 2010, although he did not provide specifics about how the Bank should operate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Infrastructure_Bank

[Ken522]

This is not good policy - we already pay very steep gasoline taxes to fund these projects so why do these same projects need more money? It sounds like the money we pay in gasoline taxes is not well managed ....

[WOBBLY BOB]

Billions in Highway Taxes Diverted to General Spending
Only one-third of fees collected by state and local government from motorists goes directly to road construction and maintenance.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/14/1494.asp

[rstrahan]

This is the sort of stuff that Texans objected to when we rejected Kay Bailey for Gov. Just waiting for her to go home.

[WayneS]

I’m sure this ‘Government Infrastructure Bank’ (recommeded acronym: ‘GIBBIE’) will be every bit as well managed as ‘FANNIE’ and ‘FREDDIE’ have been...

[newzjunkey]

Is this why The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is running ads with old footage of Reagan & Clinton talking about transportation infrastructure and telling us to call congress?

[radioone]

But, but, just think of the palatial offices these “government bankers” would have. The ornate dining rooms. Marble bathrooms. Meetings with lobbyists. Writing regulations. Flying nationwide for conventions. Leading “study groups”, etc.

I think we have to get behind this for the sake of government bureaucrats. It’s the NEW “American Way”.

[BfloGuy]

gained the support of the US Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber of Commerce is famously pro-free enterprise . . . except when it's not.

[WOBBLY BOB]

They’re mostly a bunch of open-borders crony capitalists who like government intervention if it hurts their competition or helps them (or both).