In his State of the Union address, President Trump called upon Congress for “a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion” in infrastructure spending, in a throwback to one of his campaign promises. However, his request failed to inspire much confidence for me. Despite the high dollar amount, Trump failed to offer any specific proposals on how to raise or spend the money. Also, seeing as the Capitol has been unable to fund itself recently, it seems unlikely that such a large spending package will appear anytime soon.
To maintain the health of our state’s economy, North Carolina should act now to fund infrastructure repair and development. Especially in the Triangle region, investment in transportation, higher education and technological infrastructure could greatly improve the economy, providing jobs for NC State graduates and other North Carolinians.
In a recent news article, Technician correspondent Georgia Burgess reported on NC State’s plans to upgrade several facilities starting in 2018. The construction, funded by the sale of government bonds, includes a new engineering building on Centennial Campus, the installation of a Student Services center in Harris Hall and improvements to Carmichael Gym. Projects like these are important to the student body because they ensure that our facilities are actively meeting our needs and improving ease of use.
Spending on infrastructure can stimulate the economy in excess of the amount of dollars used, but only when targeted to weak or underfunded areas, according to the Brookings Institute. So we cannot merely build miles of new roads, except where such construction will actively improve driving conditions.
For instance, Project Fortify, a project scheduled to finish this spring which has repaired sections of I-40 around Raleigh, is an example of impactful spending. This highway services 120,000 commuters each day and had degraded considerably, threatening driver safety. Although the past five years of traffic congestion have been painful at times, the new roads will probably ease the daily commute for thousands of workers for a long time to come.
At its heart, good infrastructure spending aims to combat real issues and grease the gears of the economy. Regardless of whether Congress manages to pass a substantial infrastructure deal, North Carolina must commit to improving its infrastructure, in order to ensure that we remain a center for economic growth in the 21st century.
Raleigh has been chosen as a finalist for the new Amazon headquarters, but as the News & Observer notes, our “anemic transportation system” is a major shortfall in our city’s bid for the headquarters. Although our state has offered tax incentives to attract Amazon’s attention, some of that money might be better devoted to improving our roads and mass transit. In addition, NC State students would directly benefit from improved bus service to Raleigh and other cities in the area.
The article does describe key strengths of the Triangle region, including the proximity to major universities and the existing tech environment of RTP. Preserving these advantages should also motivate the General Assembly to boost investment in higher education and technology start-ups.
In the information economy, reliable electricity access is crucial to productivity. North Carolina has become a leader in solar energy production. However, as the News & Observer notes, incentives by the state legislature to encourage both Duke Energy and energy consumers to add renewable capacity would pave the way to a cleaner energy future, as well as boosting our profile across the nation. In his speech, Trump failed to mention the grave dangers posed by climate change to the American people.
By taking infrastructure into its own hands, North Carolina can grow the economy in a way consistent with our needs and goals. As adults poised to enter the job market, we must support infrastructure spending by speaking out in favor of economically focused investment, both at the polls and between elections, to safeguard our economic future.
