Spending Won’t Fix What Ails U.S. Infrastructure: Edward Glaeser
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Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’sannouncement yesterday of a six-year, $476 billion surfacetransportation reauthorization bill, as part of his 2013 budget,is the latest demonstration of a longstanding presidentialpropensity for transportation projects.
The U.S. owes its emergence as a great power to magnificentinvestments in infrastructure. The emerging giant of today,China, is following that example. Many imagine that we mustagain build big to stay on top. But success in middle-age -- forpeople and nations -- requires wisdom and cunning more thanpumped-up brawn. America’s infrastructure needs intelligentreform, not floods of extra financing or quixotic dreams of newmoon adventures or high-speed railways to nowhere.