 TransmasterDon't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY
2 edits | Economic Impact of National Infrastructure investments I have no idea how much bovine scatology is in Curri's claims but there is certainly a track record to refer to when it come to national infrastructure investments. Two that come to mind is the New Deal Rural Electrification program, and the National Defense Interstate Highway System. The economic return on these investment was and continues to be massive.
Rural Electrification was such a big deal in the 1930's simple things like electric lights, electric washing machines, and a Dairy farmer being able to refrigerate his milk to keep it fresh for the market.
The National Defense Interstate Highway System had even a larger impact. Having a well maintained highway facilitated the movement of goods across the country giving farmers, ranchers, and manufacturing companies access to national markets. It made tourism an important part of state economies because of the ease of travel across the Continent.
I have no doubt that such an investment in a national broadband carrier system would pay off in a similar way. Like the REA, and the NDIHS the returns will take awhile to show themselves but in the long run they will pay off handsomely.
»www.tahg.org/research/Bob%20Brousek.doc
»www.interstate50th.org/docs/techmemo2.pdf
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Send a prayer to Allah, eat Beans. |
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| Well said and I agree. One can smirk at the numbers a consultant throws out and there is no way to know how accurate that number will or won't turn out to be.
As you state, however, there is plenty of evidence that the payoff in basic infrastructure investments is huge and infrastructure facilitates growth in ways that can't be predicted at the outset. The biggest long term benefits could be in ways that we can't even conceive of yet.
It would cost a considerable amount of money to get really first rate communication infrastructure to everyone in this country but previous experience says that the long term benefits would dwarf the costs.
Unfortunately this age seems to lack the vision and everything today demands a short term payoff. |
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1 edit | reply to Transmaster
Those are very good examples. I agree 100% and have always been an advocate for 1 nationwide network that is government owned or overseen. This "utility" is simply too important today and simply has too many barriers to entry and to many monopoly/duopoloy controlled markets.
Broadband is a market failure in virtually every market in the US. |
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