POLITICS - Carlini's Comments

BOTH DEMS AND REPS HAVE TO ADDRESS THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Filed Wednesday, August 27. 2008

Democrats and Republicans need to address real infrastructure issues today. If they don’t, they are failing to solve current and future economic problems.

In my last column, I referred to the 10 dying cities that were highlighted in a recent Forbes article. I also referred to a comment made by a Forbes reader about the political party that the leadership of each city and state is affiliated to.

This sparked some feedback from various readers. There was some feedback about my highlighting the political leadership in these cities. This is from one reader from San Francisco who’s a Flint, Mich. expatriate:

Interesting article. I agree on the need for long-range infrastructure planning. So often desperate cities seem willing to try almost anything to turn things around and spin their wheels on piecemeal projects that don’t solve the big problem.
I’m going to infer that by pointing out the Democratic leadership in many of the troubled towns you’re implying that Republicans would do a better job. After all, look at all the wonderful infrastructure improvements that have taken place over the last eight years with Republicans controlling all branches of government.
Rather than cast blame on the Democrats, have you considered that citizens have turned to Dems because of the dismal failure of Republican leadership? Michigan, for example, turned to a Democratic governor after a Republican failed to improve the state.
I don’t say this because I ardently support Dems. I’m an independent and have voted for candidates from both parties in the past. But I simply don’t believe that private corporations can make the wise infrastructure improvements you propose.
I feel the government – whether it’s Dem or Repub – often plays too big a role in our lives. But I feel that massive infrastructure improvements like the ones you suggest are best handled by the government, which is held accountable by voters.
After all, we’ve seen how well private contractors “rebuilt” Iraq. Just look at the track record.

My intention wasn’t to point the spotlight just on Democratic leadership. That was done by a reader in the Forbes feedback section.

Trying to kill the messenger doesn’t change the message. While I really don’t know if Republicans are better at understanding the infrastructure, the fact remains that current Democratic leaders don’t understand its importance in these cities and states.

By the way, a Democrat was in charge of the revival of Fort Wayne, Ind. I recently used this as an example of smart leadership. The Fort Wayne press also recognized that MidwestBusiness.com column. Though part of that city’s geographical growth was through annexation, the city didn’t take the traditional approach of adding more staff to service the area.

They utilized their resources better to cover more territory without adding a lot of staff. Also, the impact of adding broadband connectivity attracted new corporate facilities including Raytheon and ITT, which opened up 900 real jobs.

Let’s get the facts straight about the inaction taken in the last eight years. Congress has been controlled by the Democrats and has done nothing substantial in the last two years. Their inaction has earned them a lower rating than George Bush.

As to Michigan turning to a Democratic governor, the downward spiral hasn’t stopped or even slowed down in that state. To “infer” that people somehow switched leadership and got something better is absolutely false.

Let’s not slide this issue down into a Democratic or Republican issue but leave it at a critical strategic issue that both parties better start addressing in this country.

With hundreds of articles only blaming George Bush and the Republicans for all the country’s problems, showing that there are also Democrats who have failed to understand economic development should be viewed as a balanced or at least a more accurate perspective.

Horse-and-buggy politicians who are out of touch with solving real issues and understanding new technologies come in both flavors (Democrat and Republican).

I too am independent and believe both parties could use a better sense of urgency in addressing these types of issues instead of wasting time in Washington, D.C. as well as states that are losing jobs by the thousands.

Most have failed to connect the dots about the correlation of increasing foreclosures, defaults on car loans and student loans, financial institution implosions, lowest new-car sales in 20 years and other economic factors. These have been agitated by layoffs of thousands of skilled people who were replaced by cheaper labor brought in under H-1B visas.

The hollowing out of the middle class over the last several years is now starting to be felt in the economy. Few understand the irreversibility of this downward vortex. Rebuilding infrastructure to provide a solid platform for global commerce should be a top agenda item in all parties. Otherwise, all can share the blame for the economic problems we currently face.

Carlinism: Improving critical infrastructure needs a bipartisan effort rather than bipartisan apathy.