Massachusetts ranked 8th in a recent survey of the worst infrastructure in the U.S. by 247 Wall Street; photo, Interstate 495 over Merrimack River, Haverhill, courtesy Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Massachusetts ranked 8th in a recent survey of the worst infrastructure in the U.S. by 24/7 Wall Street; photo, Interstate 495 over Merrimack River; courtesy Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

For want of a nail…
Opportunity in America’s infrastructure

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How solid is a home that is sitting on a crumbling foundation? What other parts of this home are being stressed by having a weak infrastructure? Well, America IS our home and when we think about creating American jobs, we are literally standing on the solution.

We have to ask ourselves from a business standpoint which is the better investment: Do we give the wealthiest Americans (who have outsourced American jobs) a trillion dollar plus tax break, or do we as a nation invest in rebuilding our country’s infrastructure?

Well, the sitting Congress’ trillion dollar tax break for the wealthy was actually used to buy up more company stock instead of building offices and factories or investing in areas like Research and Development, so we’ll count this kind of tax break as a bad idea for creating more jobs.

America’s roads, bridges, railways, seaports, and dams have long been ignored by Congress like a can that has been continuously kicked down the road. In many ways, our country’s infrastructure pales in comparison to other world leading nations. If viewed as an investment, the right infrastructure plan might cost us that trillion dollars, but would create millions of jobs rebuilding our country, and the benefits would be great both financially and socially.

I see more Americans with jobs and the money to spend at a local level stimulating the economy from the ground up.

I see the tax base increasing with millions of new taxpayers.

I see American families needing less public assistance to just survive.

I see America investing in itself again just like we did with Roosevelt’s New Deal.

I see a new America just like the old America where it was the working class that drove the economy.

Far too long we have been conditioned to think by those who have bought our congressmen’s vote that “trickle down” economics benefits all when, in fact, it is “trickle up” economics that benefits everyone from the bottom to the top.

You want to Make America Great Again? Let’s spend our taxes making a solid investment rebuilding the foundation of our great country.

Our home.

James Kennedy

James Kennedy is a local artist and former businessman. He enjoys fine art, cooking and music. His own artworks are on view and available for purchase at his website.

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