President-elect Barack Obama proposed gargantuan economic stimulus package has now gotten even bigger, pushing upwards of $850 Billion. The funds will represent the incoming Chief Executive’s massive experiment with Keynesian economics; borrowing and investing unimaginable amounts of cash in the hopes of jump starting the troubled economy while improving and expanding the nation’s infrastructure, which can be used for decades into the future, much like Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s WPA projects in the 1930’s.

But what exactly are we investing in? As Obama had said repeatedly on the campaign trail, what you spend your money on shows what your priorities are.  So far only vague descriptions of what the expenditures will be have been disclosed, but the early word has been that it will be used on roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects, on making government buildings energy efficient and promoting green technologies.

The green and energy efficiency stuff sounds great. But what worries me is that “roads and bridges” are generally mentioned first when you read an article about Obama’s package. If the new administration wants to spend some money to make sure existing bridges and highways don’t fall apart I’m sure that’s something everyone can support. However the Obama team should not be doling out money to create more roads and further increase reliance on automobiles in the country. If we start hearing about 15 new freeways in L.A. or a second story being built onto the DC Beltway, then it’s time for progressives/liberals/informed people who have rational plans for the nation’s future to start calling foul.

We desperately need new energy systems in this country. New solar and wind plants. New power transmission lines to transport renewable energy to populated areas. We need to increase our reliance on mass transit and provide greater funding for Amtrak to drive down the costs of rail travel. We do not need new highways and more of the same old, same old with various politician’s crony road contractor friends. That’s not change we can believe in.

You can takepart by contacting the Obama transition team and demanding new stimulus money be focused on clean, energy efficient solutions for our future.

LINKS:

AP: Obama transition team weighs up to $850 Billion economic jolt

US News & World Report: Obama assembling $850 Billion infrastructure…

WEHT: Obama works on $850 Billion stimulus package