Commentary #2 : Creating Jobs Rebuilding America

               For most of our history, the U.S. proudly led the world in building infrastructure that grew our economy, gave our business a competitive advantages, and provided our workers a decent standard of living. Sadly, that is no longer the case. Our nation's infrastructure is collapsing, and the American people know it. Every day, they drive on roads with unforgiving potholes and over bridges that are in despair. They wait in traffic jams and ride in railroads and subways that are overcrowded. They see airports bursting at the seams. For too many years, we have dramatically underfunded the physical infrastructure that our economy depends on. Today, the U.S. spends less than 2 percent of GDP on infrastructure, less than at any point in the last twenty years. Meanwhile, Europe spends close to twice our rate, and China spends close to four times our rate. It is no wonder the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report now ranks our overall infrastructure at 12th in the world-down from 7th place just a decade ago.
            Therefore, government should take some steps like Senator Bernie Sanders talked about the Rebuild America Act, which will modernize our infrastructure and importantly, it will support more than thirteen million good-paying jobs, that our economy desperately needs. Government should invest money in infrastructure . American Society of Civil Engineers says we need to invest $3.6 billion by 2020 just to get our nation's infrastructure to a state of good repair. Moreover, there is an economic cost of not acting. Several studies have concluded that our deteriorating infrastructure already costs our economy close to $200 billion per year. Further, investing in infrastructure is not just about "bricks and mortar." As its core, it is about jobs and the economy. While the economy has improved significantly since the worst days of the recession, our nation still faces a major job crisis. We need to create millions of decent paying jobs, and we need to create them now. And infrastructure spending is one of the best ways to do just that.
           So, the Acts like The Rebuild America Act would put more than thirteen millions Americans to work in decent-paying jobs. These are jobs in sectors in economy that haven't fully recovered from the recession. like construction, and they are jobs that cannot be shipped offshore or outsourced overseas. Moreover, each and every project will require equipment, supplies and services from architects, engineers, and building materials and supply companies. Thirteen million Americans will spend their hard-earned salaries in their communities, supporting restaurants and local stores. It is no wonder groups from across the political spectrum- from organized labor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce agree that investing in infrastructure makes sound economic sense. When spending goes up, both GDP and household income grow.
         The main point of view behind spending in infrastructure is that Let's create the millions of jobs we desperately need by making tax code fair and just Let's Rebuild America. This will put 13 millions Americans to work which will rise our nation's economy.