What I don’t understand is the conspicuous absence of funding for upgraded locks and dams.
Will investment in waterway transportation create jobs? Yes. Updating our waterway infrastructure will create 48 million hours of labor for skilled trade workers throughout the Midwest.
Does investment in waterway transportation offer a return on investment? Definitely. America’s inland waterway navigation system moves more than a billion tons of domestic commerce valued at more than $300 billion per year. Agricultural products are a significant portion of that commerce and agriculture is one industry with potential to pull our economy out of the black hole it’s in.
Does investment in waterway transportation garner industry support? Undoubtedly. The shipping industry is the only industry stepping forward to provide additional funding streams for upgrades to their system that will match federal dollars. In other words, upgrading locks and dams provides jobs and return on investment in a much bigger dose than other projects because the industry is financing a portion of the project.
So what’s the problem? I’m not sure. President Obama used to support lock and dam upgrades. As a US Senator he was an advocate for upgraded locks and dams and even played a key role in the passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 that now simply sits for lack of funding. He used to be in favor of allowing the US to be competitive in a global market. He used to understand that Midwestern agriculture, the powerhouse of the American economy, relied on efficient infrastructure to get goods to markets all across the globe.
What’s changed? Again, I’m not sure. What I do know is that investment in waterway transportation offers a greener option for transporting goods, a bundle of great jobs for Midwestern workers, and a means to allow agriculture to further drive our country out of an economic mess.
All I know for sure is that that no matter what question I ask, upgraded locks and dams are the answer. More jobs, greener transportation, supportive to our nation’s largest economic powerhouse …
Mr. President, where are the locks and dams?
Frustrated IL Corn Waterway Transportation Specialist
Amen to that Jim, I listened to the snippet that the media put on the air on Obama's plan to invest six million dollars in our infrastructure but I was totally unsurprised that he omitted water transportation. I think that the perception is that it just benefits agriculture and we are not enough votes to matter. The bottom line is that Congress and the administration loves to spend money and I guess that is OK except for the fact that they are allowing the economic engine of this country to fall into disrepair and at the same time costing us literally billions of dollars in lost sales and revenue. Just another ploy to keep us dependent on those government payments I guess
ReplyDelete