Center for American Progress. March 28, 2013.
America’s infrastructure—its roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, energy grids, and telecommunications systems, to name a few—is outdated and is, in far too many places, crumbling due to lack of sufficient public investment. While pension-fund investments alone will not fill the infrastructure funding gap entirely, pension funds have the assets to contribute a significant share of capital toward rebuilding crumbling U.S. infrastructure. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/CooperCraigPensionFunds-1.pdf [PDF format, 36 pages].
Center for American Progress. March 28, 2013.
Public-private partnerships, or P3s, for building roads and bridges are engrained in America’s distant history and are re-emerging in the contemporary debate about infrastructure modernization. However, despite the familiarity P3s have achieved in other parts of the world, real concerns are slowing down the formation of these public-private partnerships in the United States. Both the general public and organized labor have raised valid questions about having private, profit-seeking entities manage public infrastructure such as roads and bridges—and about the degree to which that ownership structure will diminish public accountability and favor short-term business expediencies over long-term public interests such as those of workers and the unemployed. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BarnhartReport-41.pdf [PDF format, 29 pages].
Economic Policy Institute. March 14, 2013.
The jobs crisis caused by the Great Recession is not over, according to the brief. The country’s infrastructure is in need of repairs. The good news is that meeting all the country’s infrastructure needs would put millions of Americans to work, including hundreds of thousands of Latinos and African Americans. The issue brief examines the jobs impact that infrastructure investments would have for Latinos and African Americans. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.epi.org/files/2013/infrastructure-investments-latino-african.pdf [PDF format, 8 pages].
Brookings Institution. March 2013.
American passenger rail is in the midst of a renaissance. Ridership on Amtrak, the primary U.S. carrier, is now at record levels and growing fast. This research shows that the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas are primarily behind this trend, especially ten major metros responsible for nearly two-thirds of total ridership. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/03/01%20passenger%20rail%20puentes%20tomer/passenger%20rail%20puentes%20tomer.pdf [PDF format, 30 pages].
Council on Foreign Relations. March 7, 2012.
Rail is an essential component of a balanced national transportation system and a globally competitive economy. The American Society of Civil Engineers, which graded U.S. rail infrastructure with a C-, notes that the rail industry requires $200 billion in investment by 2035 to meet projected future demand. In the United States, modern freight and passenger rail systems share the same corridors and infrastructure. But while privately owned U.S. freight has succeeded in remaining competitive with other transportation modes, federally run passenger rail has struggled. Experts say the continued success of freight rail will require billions in new funding to avoid congestion, particularly if plans for expanding passenger rail proceed. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.cfr.org/united-states/us-rail-infrastructure/p27585 [HTML format].
