From the article: "The question is
no longer whether government has a role to play, but what that role is in
today's economy. In the 1820s and 1830s, many states jumped on the canal
bandwagon after the success of the Erie Canal, but the arrival of the railroads
made that investment essentially worthless. Mule-drawn canal barges don't
compete with trains. Even the Erie Canal soon became more tourist attraction
than working piece of infrastructure.
In today's
economy there are three big problems with the conventional case for infrastructure
spending. The first is that nothing is shovel-ready anymore.
Not-in-my-backyard, or "Nimby," lawsuits and environmental
requirements tie up significant projects for years if not decades." Read more
