Public Policy Project: Infrastructure by Victoria Coffin

Definition:

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-02 16:31:42 UTC

The set of objectives and programs of the federal government to build, maintain, and regulate hard infrastructure in the United States.

What does public infrastructure refer to?

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-02 16:39:49 UTC

Public infrastructure refers to any building or infrastructure that is owned, developed, and operated by the government. Also, it includes facilities that are opened to the public for general use.

General Background:

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-02 16:47:17 UTC

Problems including infrastructure are part of the reason that we have a new constitutional system of government. Infrastructure in the United States (and the rest of the world) includes things like roads, railroads, bridges, waste management, water management, airports, etc.

Experts opinion:

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-02 16:54:01 UTC

Many experts say that the United States is far behind in infrastructure compared to our other economic competitors.

Public Investment

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-02 17:02:08 UTC

Public investment in domestic infrastructure as a share of gross domestic product has fallen behind in the United States by more than 40% since the 1960’s

The World Economic Ranking system

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-02 23:56:51 UTC

The World Economic Forum ranks the United States as #13 when it comes to the overall quality of infrastructure within the country.

The White House

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 00:01:19 UTC

The White House published an article about the bipartisan infrastructure law and they acknowledged that America's infrastructure isn't in the best shape. Specifically in the article, it says "More than 45,000 U.S. bridges and 1 in 5 miles of roads are in poor condition, per the American Society of Civil Engineers."

What do Americans think?

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 00:03:10 UTC

59% of Americans think that improving the country's infrastructure should be given high priority by the federal government.

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 00:08:42 UTC

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 00:09:29 UTC

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 00:16:23 UTC

The ideology of the 2 main political parties differ drastically and many Americans are a part of both of those parties. Typically, republicans want to spend less of the public spending money on health, education and infrastructure while democrats normally want to spend more money on those things. This puts a barrier when deciding things because the two parties have opposing views on things like infrastructure. This also connects to American ideology because people who could be directly impacted by bad infrastructure could vote heavily towards funding the program.

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 00:30:01 UTC

After World War 2, the United States invested a lot of money in the country’s infrastructure. Because of this, it costs so much to fix all of the infrastructure in America. Infrastructure is one of the back bones in the country and is very important. Unfortunately, overtime, the United States has let a lot of the infrastructure that was built in the 1960’s hinder and get old with time. This is causing a major problem now because it is affecting the United States’ economy. Overtime, many things have been innovated and this causes the need to give our country’s infrastructure an upgrade. Throughout the years, different presidents and congress have tried to solve this issue but just when they get up to the solution, the solutions are typically delayed or abandoned due to mostly economic issues.

The Infrastructure and Jobs Act (The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law)

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 00:39:40 UTC

Signed into law on November 15, 2021, President Biden signed this into law in order to authorize $1.2 trillion for transportation and other infrastructure spending. Funding for the law addresses energy and power infrastructure, access to broadband internet, water infrastructure, and lots more.

The Water Infrastructure Enhancement Act of 2023

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 00:52:52 UTC

The WIEA established a grant program at the Environmental Protection Agency to improve the public water system. The grants fund upgrades and installation of water treatment facilities, storage tanks, distribution pipes, and more. This act requires that at least 50% of the funds need to be used in rural communities to ensure that small water systems have the funding that they need for critical improvements.

The Liberal Perspective:

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 01:05:26 UTC

Liberals typically have a greater emphasis on wanting to fund and help with the country’s current infrastructure state that it’s currently in. They also want to tie in things that will help with other issues that are also public policies including things like climate change.

The Conservative Perspective:

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 01:06:23 UTC

Conservatives don’t want to spend a lot of money on funding things like infrastructure. More specifically, they don’t want to spend extra money on things like bike lanes, passenger rails, etc. Conservatives believe that things on the other side of the country from where they are don't do much for the place that they’re physically in. Although most conservatives don’t completely support funding infrastructure, some do as long as it keeps things like the railroad running in places that aren’t widely accessible or populated.

vccoffin2024 — 2023-11-03 13:19:49 UTC