Public Works

Matt Sledge

Some Suggest Government Fix Jobs Crisis With Government Jobs

HuffingtonPost.com | Matt Sledge | Posted 12.09.2011

NEW YORK -- John Brennan turned 91 in May. Today he lives in relatively good health on Long Island, his mortgage paid off. When he was growing up in M...

Real Economic Patriotism

Paul A. London | Posted 12.05.2011

Paul A. London

The economic story that the Republican Party is peddling to American voters is profoundly unpatriotic and dead wrong.

The Politics of Discrediting America

Paul A. London | Posted 11.23.2011

Paul A. London

Is the United States "broke"? John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House, says it is. According to Boehner, the U.S. is like a family in desp...

Congressional Democrats' Advice for Obama's Jobs Speech

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.07.2011

Chris Weigant

The nation is waiting to hear what President Obama is going to say tomorrow night, when he gives an address to a joint session of Congress on the subj...

Peter S. Goodman

Putting Americans Back To Work: Politics Aside, Much Can Be Achieved

HuffingtonPost.com | Peter S. Goodman | Posted 11.01.2011

As President Obama puts the finish on a much-touted program aimed at promoting job creation, public expectations appear low, owing to national dismay ...

Compensating for "Disappeared" Money

Paul A. London | Posted 10.25.2011

Paul A. London

Republican presidential candidates are confused when they attack the Fed for "printing money." So are many others. The Fed was created in 1913 precisely to "print money" when it was needed.

Quinn's Massive, Video Poker-Funded Stimulus Upheld In Court

Posted 09.10.2011

A controversial construction spending law, dubbed "Illinois Jobs Now!" by Governor Pat Quinn, received a much-needed shot in the arm Monday as the sta...

From Depression to Public Inspiration

Robert Kuttner | Posted 05.25.2011

Robert Kuttner

Did you ever wonder why some of America's greatest public works projects were accomplished during its worst depression? President Obama has the right idea when he calls for major investment in 21st Century infrastructure.

Unemployment and Economic History

Paul A. London | Posted 05.25.2011

Paul A. London

If you want to understand what the U.S. faces today with no prospect of bringing unemployment down to 3 or 4 percent you need to read Since Yesterday,...

Streets Unlit After Dusk In Parts of New Orleans

Susan Buchanan | Posted 05.25.2011

Susan Buchanan

Patches of New Orleans are dark as a country lane at nightfall because of corroded wiring from Katrina, missing power lines or voltage that's turned off during road construction.

Dan Froomkin

AMERICA NEEDS JOBS Time For A New WPA

HuffingtonPost.com | Dan Froomkin | Posted 05.25.2011

(No. 8 in Huffington Post's America Needs Jobs series.) There is, of course, a precedent for the country facing a massive, sustained unemployment cri...

Obama's Infrastructure Bank, the Party of No and Bike Lanes in Brooklyn

Joel Epstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Joel Epstein

Imagine a pair of roomy bike lanes hugging the park-side curb of a broad boulevard of pre-war mansions and stately apartment houses.

An Alternative to Long-Term Unemployment Compensation

Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. | Posted 05.25.2011

Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D.

Providing government-supported employment and education to returning servicemen from the Iraq and Afghanistan who are unable to obtain work on their own should also be seriously considered.

60% Of Port-Au-Prince Needs Demolition, But Who Will Do The Job?

Rowan Moore Gerety | Posted 05.25.2011

Rowan Moore Gerety

All over Port au Prince, the same spray-painted scrawl designates thousands of half-collapsed houses and buildings "à démolir." According to th...

The Politics of Unemployment

Paul A. London | Posted 05.25.2011

Paul A. London

If politicians succumb to pressure to reduce spending quickly, there is no way to get people back to work. Somebody has to spend money, but who will do it if not the government?

The Real Solution to Unemployment

Deepak Bhargava | Posted 05.25.2011

Deepak Bhargava

The current unemployment rate and overwhelming likelihood of its persistence for many months, even years, is a human disaster.

Fleecing the USA Again: Non-Performance-Based P3 Banker Fees

Michael Likosky | Posted 05.25.2011

Michael Likosky

If the recovery is done right, we can forge public-private partnerships akin to the Second World War. However, our least patriotic institution, the large scale investment bank, seems to have something different in mind.

No Blacklisters Please: Decency in P3 Contracting

Michael Likosky | Posted 05.25.2011

Michael Likosky

The United Kingdom Information Commissioner recently named Balfour Beatty and LAZ Parking Company's parent, Vinci, as having funded a secret 15-year long blacklisting operation.

Ed Rendell: Hardest Working Man in Infrastructure

Michael Likosky | Posted 05.25.2011

Michael Likosky

Governor Rendell has been a tireless advocate of an infrastructure-driven recovery within the NGA and also as co-leader of Building America's Future.

Obama's Economy

Michael Likosky | Posted 05.25.2011

Michael Likosky

If the TARP banks are to be a main investment vehicle for the next stage of recovery -- as they should be, it is after all our money not theirs -- it is heartening to have Obama at the helm.

Zelizer's Book Corner: Jason Scott Smith, Building a New Deal Liberalism

Julian E. Zelizer | Posted 05.25.2011

Julian E. Zelizer

Building a New Deal Liberalism offers a fascinating history of New Deal public works programs, challenging the conventional arguments about the problems with these projects.