“Shovel-Ready” infrastructure construction projects and jobs were supposed to be helped by the Stimulus Package – this blog by Jeff Champagne, from the Skilledtrades.com website points out that though the idea was sound much of the applications have not been.
Is There Such A Thing As A “Shovel-Ready” Project?
It seemed like a good idea on paper. President Obama’s recovery act sought to put a big percentage of the stimulus where it would help the economy most (and, cynics would say, provide the biggest boost to Democrats heading into the 2012 midterm elections). By endorsing “shovel-ready” infrastructure construction projects, the President followed sound economic theory. Analysis varies, but most economists accept that for every dollar spent to upgrade the nation’s roads, bridges, water facilities and other undergirding, the economy grows by $1.59 to $2.28; that is, the direct construction jobs created, tax revenue generated, and consumer demand stimulated will create that much more in additional jobs, family spending, etc.
“If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, then someone has to stock it, shelve it, process it, package it, ship it,” explained Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilseck, after Obama recently unveiled The American Jobs Act, stimulus redux. “All of those are jobs. It’s the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times.”
Again, the theory holds water. Unfortunately, all the dams, flood control channels, and sewage treatment plants created by the stimulus package don’t, because they haven’t been built. The plan was to get Americans working again by focusing stimulus funding on “shovel-ready’ projects – jobs which are vetted for funding eligibility, have had all their paperwork filed with the relevant government agencies, have passed all requirements, have all the players such as engineers, architects, project leadership, and technical support in place, and have either passed or do not require environmental impact studies. Those that passed muster could get the money and break ground in as little as a month.
Here’s where the plan springs a few leaks. When was the last time you encountered a government-run, -funded, -overseen, or –controlled agency or project that could hit the ground running when given the go-ahead? Outside of military operations, it has probably been awhile. According to The Economist magazine, “Hopes for an immediate jolt of activity were misplaced….States did have a backlog of maintenance projects, such as repaving dilapidated roads. Nevertheless, work moved more slowly than some Democrats expected. By October 2009 even the fastest programs – those under the highway and transit headings – had seen work begin on just $14.3 billion-worth of projects.”
To paraphrase an aphorism, “The government can deliver your project, good, fast, and cheap; pick the one you want.” Cheap was out of the picture from the get-go. The entire stimulus package cost taxpayers nearly $800 billion. Good went out the window when the bill forced government bureaucrats to do something they weren’t accustomed to – implement a program efficiently. And The Huffington Post notes that “fast” wasn’t that all that fast, either. Funding was slow in getting to the states – even those most in need of an employment bump. Officials from transportation agencies in Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina say that as of September 2011, they were still awaiting funding on more than $600 million in shovel-ready projects. It seems the money was going nowhere fast, and that much of it went slowly to the wrong places. The Economist again: “It is unclear that the money spent has been money spent well. The attempt to begin work hastily meant that both good and bad projects have moved forward.”
Those results have Republicans going ballistic over the President’s American Jobs Act. Though the administration is careful not to use the phrase “shovel-ready,” the plan again calls for immediate infrastructure investment – $50 billion this time – and promises to put American contractors back to work on high-priority improvement projects on 150,000 miles of road, 4,000 miles of railroad tracks and various airport projects.
“Shovel-ready’ has become a national joke, and the more-than-$787 billion stimulus has failed to deliver the jobs that were promised,” House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) fumed in panning the act. “The Administration is merely using existing authority to better coordinate project reviews, but it is not actually streamlining the project process. Why is the Administration suggesting improved coordination for only a few projects and not all?”
Read the complete blog and more from Skilledtrades.com – HERE
