President-elect Barack Obama has announced a promise to institute a broad-ranging package of building programs, from infrastructure to schools -- the nation's largest public works program since the post-war era.
"Mr. Obama's remarks showcased his ambition to expand the definition of traditional work programs for the middle class, like infrastructure projects to repair roads and bridges, to include new-era jobs in technology and so-called green jobs that reduce energy use and global warming emissions. "We need action - and action now," Mr. Obama said in an address broadcast Saturday morning on radio and YouTube."
"Mr. Obama's plan, if enacted, would be in part a government-directed industrial policy, with lawmakers and administration officials picking winners and losers among private projects and raining large amounts of taxpayer money on them."
"It would cover a range of programs to expand broadband Internet access, to make government buildings more energy efficient, to improve information technology at hospitals and doctors' offices, and to upgrade computers in schools."
FULL STORY: Obama Pledges Public Works on a Vast Scale
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research