Society will never completely agree about what the federal government’s proper role in society is. Some will always think it should assume a more expansive role, while others will always believe it should play a limited role.
But, despite these differences, there are certain functions that almost everyone believes can best be accomplished by government.
For example, the federal government is best suited for the administration of the U.S. military as well as the maintenance of currency.
Another important function the federal government serves is that of maintaining infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, around the country in order to facilitate inter-state commerce.
However, even though much of our infrastructure needs updating and many people are still out of work, Congress hasn’t taken comprehensive action to address the U.S.’s infrastructure woes.
If Congress doesn’t take comprehensive action to improve our infrastructure, our highways and roads will continue to decay and hinder economic progress in the long run.
Much of the U.S. infrastructure is rapidly dilapidating. In 2009, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave it a ‘D’ grade in terms of quality.
In a 2011 report, the ASCE took note of the U.S.’s aging water infrastructure and cited the negative economic consequences of languishing transportation structures.
According to the Urban Land Institute, much of this can be attributed to the political stalemate and the refusal to raise the gas tax, which hasn’t been contributing as much to the federal Highway Trust Fund.
According to the ULI, states must attempt to do so, but since they’re also broke nothing ends up happening. Infrastructure is vital in easing the flow of goods and services in our economy. Not only does construction provide jobs to workers, which the U.S. could certainly benefit from in the midst of this recession, but it could also further facilitate commerce on a long-term basis.
In a report, the World Bank noted that “the expansion in quantity and improvement in quality of infrastructure services…lowers costs and expands market opportunities for businesses” while contributing “to increased investment and productivity which is essential for sustaining economic growth.”
But while the economic benefits are agreed upon, the proposed solutions aren’t, although Congress should consider all of them. Some have proposed raising the aforementioned gas tax, and many people have also proposed the creation of a bank dedicated to funding infrastructure projects. Still, others like the Council on Foreign Relations think Congress should ease federal governmental regulations in order to encourage statewide public-private structural investment partnerships.
While this might work for exclusively local infrastructure, in order to prevent a cobbled-together road system that might adversely affect inter-state trade, Congress should focus on investing in projects on a national scale. The CFR also proposes better coordination among federal programs so as to better facilitate infrastructural funding.
Highway systems, water systems, and other various infrastructure systems in the United States don’t simply appear and maintain themselves. An organizing body must plan building projects, implement them, and maintain the structures. That organizing body isn’t the private sector. Even libertarians recognize this. The proper organizing body for this task is the federal government, and it’s time for Congress to step up and actually take measures to improve the infrastructure that connects the U.S. and aids commerce and prosperity.
Leonardo Poareo is a senior journalism major and a contributing writer for the Daily 49er.
