Governments’ Oil Windfall
We are reading a lot about the windfall coming to consumers due to falling gas prices now that oil is under $50/barrel. But cheap energy also represents a windfall for governments, including governments who are hard pressed for cash. The US uses nearly 20% of the world’s energy consumption every year. That spending includes households, […]
It’s the Jobs, Stupid: Infrastructure Matters
Cross posted at NewGeography.com
It may surprise you to know that some policy makers and academics
believe that "nothing matters" when it comes to infrastructure — the
physical structures that make water, energy, broadband and
transportation work — and economic prosperity.
The thrust of the idea
that infrastructure doesn’t matter may have started with Larry Summers,
appointed by President Obama as Director of the National Economic
Council in 2009. The New York Times says he is "the only top economic
adviser with a West Wing office" – meaning he is very powerful in Washington terms.