Most of us in the building construction industry have been waiting expectantly since President Barack Obama declared that he aspired to a building plan as ambitious as any the country has ever known—or at least that is what we believe we heard.As spending on infrastructure seems to continually get smaller as the weeks go by, there might not be much left to really be the adrenaline shot to the industry that most of us were hoping for. The $825 billion seems to be concentrated towards being delivered fast to what the administration sees as the number one problem: joblessness. Even fast-track architecture is not seen as being able to operate at a quick enough speed to significantly alleviate the current situation. The AIA and advocacy groups like America 2050 are warning that the money must not be spent all at once, but rather in phases that allow for strategic planning, job training, construction, and engineering evaluations.
These warnings and perhaps pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears as the portion for infrastructure in the stimulus package hasn't increased. Still, some air of optimism persists as we continue to hold on to the lists of 10,000 schools to be updated, 90 ports to be secured, 75 percent of federal buildings to be weatherized, and 1,300 waste-water projects to be built and $100 billion investment in clean energy projects for the private sector.
Maybe I didn't pay enough attention in my Economics classes back in college but I would assume that projects that over time generated more jobs would be a much sought after thing and I think that is what a strong building and infrastructure plan would do. I think that would be much more beneficial in the long run than tax cuts but then maybe I'm just too eager for more projects.
Image obtained from : www.zimbio.com/pictures
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