Sourc

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Real Investment in America Looking Back, Looking
Ahead
By Eric Lotke Campaign for Americas
Future November 18, 2008
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Source http//www.flickr.com/photos/byjerry/26752
97104/in/set-72157606204610080/
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Source http//www.flickr.com/photos/28817993_at_N00/
38963405/
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Source http//www.flickr.com/photos/68076636_at_N00/
842866223/
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Going Nowhere Fast

• City drivers spend over 4 billion hours stuck in
  traffic every year, enough time for every member
  of the workforce to take a week of vacation.
• They burn 3 billion gallons of gas going nowhere
  roughly 58 supertankers and 100 per car.
• 43,000 people die in car accidents every year.
  Another 2.6 million people are injured nearly 1
  per second.

Sources The 2007 Urban Mobility Report. Texas
Transportation Institute and The Texas AM
University System. Crashes vs. Congestion
Whats the Cost to Society? American Automobile
Association. Oberstar, DeFazio McCain Gas Tax
Proposal Will Cost Much, Do Little. House of
Representatives Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure.
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Structural Problems

• 1 out of 4 bridges in the United States is
  structurally deficient or functionally
  obsolete.
• Over 1/4 of the dams overseen by the Corps of
  Engineers have exceeded the lifespan for which
  they were designed and need major repairs to
  ensure their safety.

Sources Deficient Bridges by State and Highway
System. Federal Highway Administration. Risk
Analysis for Dam Safety. United States Army
Engineer Research and Development Center.
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Stop complaining! Start building.

• Every 1 billion invested in transportation
  creates 20,000 new jobs.
• Every 1 invested in public transport generates
  an average of 6 in economic returns.

Sources The U.S. Employment Effects on
Military and Domestic Spending Priorities.
Institute for Policy Studies. The World
Economy Is MovingCan America Keep Up? American
Public Transportation Association.
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New Energy for America

• The Apollo Plan
• 500 billion over
• 10 years
• 5 million high wage,
• clean energy jobs

Source http//www.flickr.com/photos/7365168_at_N03/4
70038989/
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Perry Preschool

• Every dollar invested yields 7.16 in economic
  returns. Participants are
• 1/2 as likely to need public assistance
• 1/5 as likely to commit crimes
• 3 times more likely to be homeowners
• 4 times more likely to have (taxable!) monthly
  earnings above 2,000

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Invest in Students by Investing in Teachers
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Stimulus and Beyond

• Long term problems
• Long term solutions
• Long term financing
• Not pay as you go