American Infrastructure Initiative: Press

Obama Pressed By Foreign, Domestic Issues | Washington Times

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:29:00 -0400

... but also of the public," said Michael Lind, director of the economic-growth program at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. ... and more »

Dealing With America’s Debt | WTOP

Erin Drankoski — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:54:00 -0400

Obama on Drive to Tackle Healthcare Rage | Financial Times

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:42:00 -0400

... president when he says we can have all these good things without paying for it," said Michael Lind, a political analyst at the New America Foundation. ...

Rush to Renewables Threatens to Blow Another Bubble | The National

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:04:00 -0400

Another recent study, by Samuel Sherraden and Jason Peuquet of the New America Foundation, a public policy institute in Washington found that America's ...

Green Trade Balance

Communications — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:12:00 -0400

Green investment is a major pillar of the president's economic recovery plan. Yet, America's dependence on foreign countries to produce green technologies may undermine this recovery strategy. Using a list of green goods derived from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), we have determined that the United States ran an overall green trade deficit of -$8.9 billion in 2008, including a deficit of -$6.4 billion in the critical category of renewable energy, one of the main targets

Storm Brews Over Obama's Tax Plan | Russia Today

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:12:00 -0400

According to Michael Lind, Policy Director for the Economic Growth Program at New America Foundation, “this has alarmed a lot of the administrations' allies in the tech community which have been very supportive of President Obama. ...

US Transportation Needs Are Colossal, and So Are Funding Challenges | Finance and Commerce

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:03:00 -0400

The good news for transportation boosters: There's a growing consensus that the system needs “massive investment” to bring things up to speed, said Michael Lind, policy director of the Economic Growth Program for the New America Foundation, a Washington ...

Border Czar to be Named Ahead of Latin Talks | Washington Times

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:43:00 -0400

"If you're doing something, and someone tells you a new era in US-Latin American relations has dawned, don't necessarily drop what you're doing," said Michael Lind, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation. Mr. Obama faces the most urgent ...

Investment in America’s Infrastructure

Communications — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:58:00 -0500

Washington, DC -- President-elect Barack Obama has called for an ambitious program of public investment in infrastructure, including but not limited to short-term stimulus spending. Proposals for rebuilding America have received broad bipartisan support.

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Don't Fund Infrastructure Projects Separately | Conde Nast Portfolio

Communications — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:05:00 -0500

But according to Michael Lind, that's exactly what Obama should do: rather than fund infrastructure projects out of general funds, it should issue ...

Joel Kotkin in Grand Forks Herald | 'Eide Motors Renovating its Showroom'

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:53:00 -0400

The Heartland Development Bank, which was conceived by Delore Zimmerman, president of the Grand Forks-based Praxis Strategy Group, and Joel Kotkin, a senior consultant with Praxis and an New America Foundation senior fellow, is designed to encourage investment in the Midwest and would use public and private funds to improve emerging population centers through investment in education, public infrastructure and research and development. LINK

Financing America’s Infrastructure

Communications — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:48:00 -0400

Today the New America Foundation released a policy paper by Douglas Rediker and Heidi Crebo-Rediker, co-directors of the New America Foundation's Global Strategic Finance Initiative. The executive summary is pasted below. Also, see a PDF of the entire policy paper: http://www.newamerica.net/files/Financing_America_Infrastructure.PDF

Contact: Erin Drankoski, 202-997-8727, drankoski@newamerica.net. For further information on New America's Global Strategic Finance Initiative and Economic Growth Program, click here.

Executive Summary

America's basic infrastructure is outdated, worn, and in some cases, failing. Most experts agree that it is inadequate for meeting the demands of the 21st-century global economy. If we are to remain competitive, we must invest in capital assets like roads, ports, bridges, mass transit, water systems, and broadband infrastructure. Many other countries-both rich and poor-see investing in infrastructure as imperative for economic survival and success in an increasingly competitive economic environment. But the United States has lagged in infrastructure investment, in both relative and absolute terms. We are spending less than 2 percent of GDP on infrastructure, while China and India are spending 9 percent and 5 percent of GDP, respectively.[i]

If the nation's infrastructure needs are apparent, so too are the limits on available funds in federal, state, and local government coffers. In this presidential election year, we can see these limits clearly, as the nation's spending priorities are magnified by electoral politics. Although significant government funding will likely continue to play a key role in the development of public infrastructure, the scale of our funding needs increasingly compels us to look beyond government to close the financing gap. It is for this reason that public support for private sector infrastructure investment is essential.

The good news is that while the federal government struggles to find funds to address its spending needs there is abundant private capital for infrastructure investment. An estimated $400 billion in global funds are available for equity investment in infrastructure, and the funds available to support the debt component amount to several trillion dollars if we include global central bank reserves, global pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds.[ii] Rather than focus on these large pools of global capital as a threat, we should view them as an opportunity. So, while we have enormous infrastructure financing needs, there are also enormous pools of capital available for investment. The trick is to bring the two together in a commercial, sustainable, and politically acceptable way.

The U.S. municipal bond markets have functioned well for many years, channeling private capital into financing certain elements of U.S. infrastructure. But current budgetary constraints and other market conditions mean that municipal finance is no longer adequate to meet the challenge of financing the scale of investment needed. And our current financing structures are unable to take advantage of the large pools of capital that are available for infrastructure financing.

We recommend two initiatives to help finance U.S. infrastructure needs beyond direct government grants. First, we suggest the enactment of legislation and the development of regulations to facilitate the origination and issuance of public sector covered bonds in the United States, which will provide a market-based, efficient, and secure mechanism to attract capital for infrastructure investment. Second, along the lines of a proposal by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) last year,[iii] we recommend that the federal government consider the creation of a new, government-owned and -capitalized infrastructure financing entity-a National Infrastructure Finance Enterprise-that would pool, package, and sell existing and future public infrastructure securities in the capital markets. The proposed entity would also seek to develop an in-house capability to originate infrastructure loans and would be able to fund itself through the international capital markets.[iv] We believe that the entity should be capitalized at a far higher level than proposed in the DeLauro bill. Further, its scope should extend beyond that of the National Infrastructure Bank as currently proposed by Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE).[v]

Despite the current climate of suspicion and distrust regarding capital markets and financial engineering techniques, we believe that this should not preclude their responsible use in the future to help address infrastructure problems that require the investment and deployment of large amounts of capital.

[i] Robert L. Reid, "The Infrastructure Crisis," Special Report, Civil Engineering (Online Magazine of the American Society of Civil Engineers), January 2008, http://pubs.asce.org/magazines/CEMag/2008/Issue_01-08/article1.htm.

[ii] As of April 2008, global central bank reserves were estimated to exceed $6 trillion; OECD pension funds were estimated to total approximately $18 trillion; and sovereign wealth funds were estimated to exceed $3.5 trillion. These three pools of capital are expected to grow at a tremendous pace over the coming years. See "Foreign Investment and Sovereign Wealth Funds," Douglas Rediker and Heidi Crebo-Rediker http://www.newamerica.net/files/GSFIWorkingPaper1.pdf.

[iii] The National Infrastructure Development Act of 2007 (HR 3896) was introduced by Congresswoman DeLauro on October 18, 2007.

[iv] There is historical precedent for this. NIFE could be established much like Fannie Mae at its inception, before it became a publicly held, exchange-listed, government-sponsored enterprise.

[v] The Dodd-Hagel National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007 would establish a federal bank that could prioritize and assist with the financing of infrastructure projects of substantial regional or national significance, using both public and private capital.