infrastructure – News Stories About infrastructure - Page 5

labor day speech

Sep 6, 2010 4:07 PM CDT

Combative Obama Attacks GOP

And rolls out infrastructure program in same breath

(Newser) - As expected , Barack Obama rolled out a $50 billion infrastructure program designed to create jobs at a Labor Day speech in Milwaukee—and coupled it with a blunt campaign-season assault on Republicans. "These guys refuse to give up on the economic philosophy they peddled for most of the...

Obama to Sink
$50B Into Rails,
Roads, Runways

Sep 6, 2010 8:00 AM CDT

Obama to Sink $50B Into Rails, Roads, Runways

Will unveil infrastructure spending plan today in Milwaukee

(Newser) - Looking to jumpstart the economy, President Obama will use his Labor Day to announce an ambitious $50 billion spending plan aimed at the country's infrastructure: Roads, rails, and runways. The cost would be spread out over six years, notes the AP, but carries significant immediate spending that the White House...

Let's Fix America With Millionaires' Money

Steven Pearlstein

Sep 3, 2010 2:40 PM CDT

Let's Fix America With Millionaires' Money

Republican arguments are 'hogwash'

(Newser) - The Democrats are in desperate need of an economic and political boost, and the expiring Bush tax cuts ought to provide one, writes Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post . The economics are simple: You can’t raise taxes on the middle class in a recession, but the rich would only...

Suck It Up—
We Need
Taxes

Paul Krugman

Aug 9, 2010 1:58 PM CDT

Suck It Up— We Need Taxes

Our basic government functions are falling by the wayside

(Newser) - Local governments across America are cutting back on basic services that virtually everyone needs—roads are being broken down into gravel, teachers laid off, and, in at least one town, the street lights literally turned off—because they have no money and can’t stomach a tax increase. The situation...

Hackers Target Power Plants

Aug 4, 2010 3:31 AM CDT

Hackers Target Power Plants

Homeland Security assembles cyber-response teams

(Newser) - Hackers worldwide have been stepping up efforts to break into the systems of power plants and other infrastructure, security experts say. The first malware specifically designed to attack the software used to control power grids was recently uncovered. The Department of Homeland Security has created teams of experts who can...

We're Headed for
Another Bridge Disaster

opinion

Jul 20, 2010 6:40 PM CDT

We're Headed for Another Bridge Disaster

Spans need fixing, but Congress dithers

(Newser) - Some not-so-fun facts to ponder on your next drive: More than 151,000 of the nation's bridges—that's about 25%—are deemed structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, writes blogger Dr. Denny at Scholars and Rogues . It's true that the number is decreasing, but only incrementally. "At this rate, America...

Most Believe Internet Access Is a Human Right

says poll

Mar 8, 2010 8:40 AM CST

Most Believe Internet Access Is a Human Right

Varying attitudes on government oversight

(Newser) - Nearly four out of five people believe that access to the Internet should be universal right for all human beings. A BBC survey of more than 27,000 people from 26 countries found that 79% agree that Internet access is a fundamental right. But there are disagreements among that majority...

Chavez Declares
Electricity Emergency

Feb 10, 2010 4:17 AM CST

Chavez Declares Electricity Emergency

Venezuelan leader blames drought, capitalism for shortages

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez has declared a state of emergency, giving his government extra powers to deal with chronic electricity shortages. The Venezuelan leader announced measures including a 100% surcharge on electric bills that show a 10% increase in usage. Chavez warned that the worst drought in decades has hit hydroelectric production...

Help Is Coming, But Hard to Know If It's Right Kind

HAITI EARTHQUAKE

Jan 14, 2010 10:33 PM CST

Help Is Coming, But Hard to Know If It's Right Kind

With key first 48 elapsed, more ordinary needs take over

(Newser) - With what rescuers call the “golden 48 hours” for finding survivors in the rubble of the Haiti earthquake elapsed, the troubling question arises of whether the medical help flowing to the island will be what’s most needed. Rescue efforts have become more coordinated since the slapdash response to...

House Narrowly OKs $174B Job-Focused Stimulus Bill

Dec 16, 2009 6:39 PM CST

House Narrowly OKs $174B Job-Focused Stimulus Bill

Irate GOP calls measure 'son of stimulus'

(Newser) - President Obama's Democratic allies in the House have muscled through a year-end measure—with a price tag of $174 billion—aimed at creating jobs through a second round of stimulus spending. The 217-212 vote reflected considerable uneasiness among Democrats over the prospect of voting for more debt-financed spending as the...

Obama Pushes Tax Breaks for Small Businesses

Dec 8, 2009 1:08 PM CST

Obama Pushes Tax Breaks for Small Businesses

President lays out ideas to create jobs

(Newser) - President Obama proposed a series of job-creating ideas today to supplement the original stimulus plan, with an emphasis on helping small businesses through tax breaks and a suspension of their capital gains taxes. He also called for spending on highways and other infrastructure projects as well as the so-called “...

IBM Bets on Water 'Smart Grid'

Sep 4, 2009 11:07 AM CDT

IBM Bets on Water 'Smart Grid'

(Newser) - IBM is developing a set of water grid technologies, designed to revamp the world’s badly outdated fresh water delivery systems in much the same way many countries are trying to upgrade their energy grids, CNET reports. IBM projects the water management business could be worth $20 billion within 5...

Why Stimulus Gets a Bad Rap

OPINION

Aug 20, 2009 10:04 AM CDT

Why Stimulus Gets a Bad Rap

(Newser) - The Democrats’ $787 billion stimulus package is less popular than ever—even though it’s already working, writes David Wessel for the Wall Street Journal. The case against it is weak: Fed rate cuts hadn’t slowed the recession, already a year-old at that point, making the stimulus an appropriate...

Recession Is Kaput; Now
for the 'Smart Economy'

ANALYSIS

Jul 26, 2009 4:23 PM CDT

Recession Is Kaput; Now for the 'Smart Economy'

(Newser) - The Great Recession is cooling off, but Americans will feel the heat for a while—because recovery is tricky this time, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek. Another economic bubble inflated by consumption would be a mere Band-Aid. That's why President Obama is trying to create a four-sided "smart economy"...

Stimulus Shortchanges Cities

Jul 9, 2009 7:43 AM CDT

Stimulus Shortchanges Cities

(Newser) - Two-thirds of the country lives in big cities, but less than half of the federal stimulus’ transportation money is going to fix their often crumbling roads, the New York Times reports. States were allowed to decide for themselves how stimulus money was spent, and state lawmakers have a long history...

Megacities Stagger India

May 13, 2009 8:02 AM CDT

Megacities Stagger India

Out-of-control urbanization threatens to drag down Indian economy for years

(Newser) - The explosive growth of India's cities is threatening to drag down the country's economy for decades to come, economists tell the Wall Street Journal. The global trend toward urbanization has gone into overdrive in India, but most cities aren't prepared to deal with the influx of migrants from the countryside,...

Contractors Bid Hot and Heavy for 'Shovel-Ready' Jobs

Apr 8, 2009 9:11 AM CDT

Contractors Bid Hot and Heavy for 'Shovel-Ready' Jobs

States saving big time in fight for contracts

(Newser) - Contractors are scrambling to get in line for stimulus-funded "shovel-ready" jobs, reports the Washington Post, and states are finding their stimulus dollars are going a lot further than expected as a result. Companies that were building subdivisions not so long ago are now competing for government jobs and going...

Stimulus in Hand,
States Race to
Start Projects

Mar 17, 2009 10:46 AM CDT

Stimulus in Hand, States Race to Start Projects

NE, CA, MO, and MD all moved immediately with federal dollars

(Newser) - Four states—Nebraska, Missouri, California, and Maryland—claim to be the first to use their federal stimulus money, the New York Times reports. "Our project is definitely the first one to use shovels," said an official in California, where forest trail work started yesterday. But shovels aside, Missouri...

Stimulus Flows Into Patchwork of Road Projects

Mar 4, 2009 8:13 AM CST

Stimulus Flows Into Patchwork of Road Projects

Thousands of small p

(Newser) - Although the stimulus package that Barack Obama signed last month contains eye-watering sums, the earliest projects out of the gate are far from monumental: widening a highway in Kansas, resurfacing some roads in Missouri. More than a dozen states have announced their plans to spend their share of the $50...

Mayor: Global Warming
Could Swamp NYC

Feb 18, 2009 6:32 AM CST

Mayor: Global Warming Could Swamp NYC

Bloomberg calls for city to improve infrastructure ahead of climate disaster

(Newser) - Climate change will make New York City a hotter, wetter, and stormier place in coming decades and sea levels that could rise at least 4 feet may swamp the city, a panel of scientists convened by Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned yesterday. Bloomberg said the city must start preparing evacuation plans...