Find
Physical Infrastructure Investments
From the Dispatch
-
Over 225 Legislators From 48 States Stand Up For Jobs Now
Nov 04, 2011
This week, conservatives in the United States Senate blocked a $60 billion piece of President Obama’s American Jobs Act from advancing — a package that would have created a national infrastructure bank and funded needed infrastructure projects while putting 450,000 Americans back to work, paid for by a miniscule 0.7 percent surtax on taxpayers making over a million dollars a year. This follows the similar conservative blockage last month of $35 billion in aid to states that would have allowed states to save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and first responders. All told, Congress has now blocked three separate jobs bills over the past month (including their original rejection of the entire American Jobs Act), a striking display of intransigence on the part of conservatives who claim to be concerned about job creation. As jobs efforts stall in the nation’s capital due to this right-wing obstruction, state legislators from 48 states and counting are letting D.C. know their states need jobs now, and many are taking the lead on job creation themselves.
-
More Affordable (and Clean!) Energy for Hawaiians, All While Supporting Small Businesses
Oct 21, 2010
Last week, the state of Hawaii approved its first roll-out of Feed-in Tariffs (FIT), a reward program that allows homes and businesses to get paid for building renewable energy systems such as rooftop solar panels and feeding that energy into the electric grid. To implement the plan, companies that install and maintain a renewable source device receive a Power Purchase Agreement from a utility, while the state government regulates the electricity tariff rate. The Hawaii FIT program roll-out will take place on all of the state's grids within six weeks. Hawaii joins Vermont, Washington, California, and Oregon in introducing statewide feed-in-tariffs.
-
Obama's $50 Billion Infrastructure Job Program Could Increase Impact with Focus on Funding Local Transit
Sep 09, 2010
President Obama this week announced a proposed $50 billion initiative to upgrade America's transportation infrastructure. While this infrastructure spending is desperately needed, and the focus on upgrading the nation's rail system will have broad economic impacts, the immediate job creation impact could be increased through greater support for local transit projects as well, as a new report by the Transportation Equity Network emphasizes.
-
Job Creation and State Fiscal Relief Resolutions Moving in the States
Feb 11, 2010
In the State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama stated, "...jobs must be our number-one focus in 2010, and that's why I'm calling for a new jobs bill." With the fiscal crisis forcing states to layoff hundreds of thousands of teachers, nurses and police officers, the need for more federal job creation and state fiscal relief support is clear. And there is substantial momentum building around this issue in the states.
- 1 of 3
- ››