Maybe if the need for infrastructure funding were represented differently, maybe if it were repackaged and rebranded, maybe then the political case would gain greater traction. Infrastructure—roads, dams, waterlines, sewers—are necessary, but boring and we have come to accept they are free, part of the banal background to our lives that will just be provided somehow.
It hasn't worked to plead that our various transport and public works systems are falling apart, now closer to Third World than 21st Century, threatening the nation's productivity and future economic growth. Eyes glaze over at the American Society of Civil Engineers' grade D ratings for the country's various infrastructure systems and the $2 trillion or $3 trillion or is it $4 trillion price tag to fix them. Whatever. Dams aren't failing yet, the last bridge to collapse was several years ago, sewage waste only shows up on my beach once in a while. What's the crisis?
President Trump's $20-billion-a-year (for 10 years) federal infrastructure funding plan relies on leveraging contributions from state and local governments that don't have the money and private sector investment that will focus on relatively small bore, one-off projects not major national endeavors. Realize $20 billion might cover a single New York City subway line or the Gateway (rail) Tunnel project between New York and New Jersey. That's not going to get the multi-trillion dollar job done, is it? And at the same time the President's budget proposal reduces funding to support basic repair and maintenance for existing systems—the ones that are falling apart.
Somehow the dire state of our infrastructure is too abstract and not immediate enough a threat for the public to register. Based on recent legislation we want to pay less in taxes and spend more for the military. And based on the lack of legislation, we want to own assault weapons and be at the ready in case of an attack since all the money we spend on the military might not be enough to ensure our freedoms.
And then realize that President Eisenhower rationalized the need for an interstate highway system based on moving tanks and other armaments across the country in the case of another World War. That precipitated the last great infrastructure funding wave in the country, which began more than 60 years ago and eventually petered out in the 1980s. Those Interstates changed the US landscape, turbocharged suburban growth, supported the auto industry, and precipitated billions of dollars in real estate development. Thankfully they haven't been used for tank convoys. At least not yet, although Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC may get a military parade soon.
So would it be more politically palatable if we represented new rail tunnels and high speed lines as necessary to move troops in the case of an ISIS attack? Would revamping our airports follow a call to provide more landing strips for our fighter planes, and would expanding urban subway systems gain support if we underscored the necessity to shelter populations in the event of nuclear attacks by North Korea? And would we finally be able to reconfigure the freight distribution systems from our major ports if we rationalized the necessity for supplying future overseas war efforts against Iran?
Indeed, let's again highlight infrastructure rebuilding as essential for our national defense akin to funding aircraft carriers or stealth bombers. Take infrastructure away from the Transportation Secretary and give the responsibility to Gen. Mad Dog Mattis at the Pentagon. We might not raise the gas tax and the country certainly would ratchet up further debt, but we might start at least to upgrade highways before breaking too many more car axels in winter potholes.
So what if we fall back on the Eisenhower-style solution which made the case for delivering wide and smooth road beds for our missile launchers and armored personnel carriers. It worked then. Why not now?
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Jonathan D. Miller
A marketing communication strategist who turned to real estate analysis, Jonathan D. Miller is a foremost interpreter of 21st citistate futures – cities and suburbs alike – seen through the lens of lifestyles and market realities. For more than 20 years (1992-2013), Miller authored Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the leading commercial real estate industry outlook report, published annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has lectures frequently on trends in real estate, including the future of America's major 24-hour urban centers and sprawling suburbs. He also has been author of ULI’s annual forecasts on infrastructure and its What’s Next? series of forecasts. On a weekly basis, he writes the Trendczar blog for GlobeStreet.com, the real estate news website. Outside his published forecasting work, Miller is a prominent communications/institutional investor-marketing strategist and partner in Miller Ryan LLC, helping corporate clients develop and execute branding and communications programs. He led the re-branding of GMAC Commercial Mortgage to Capmark Financial Group Inc. and he was part of the management team that helped build Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Inc. (subsequently Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.) into the leading real estate advisor to pension funds and other real institutional investors. He joined the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. in 1981, moving to Equitable Real Estate in 1984 as head of Corporate/Marketing Communications. In the 1980's he managed relations for several of the country's most prominent real estate developments including New York's Trump Tower and the Equitable Center. Earlier in his career, Miller was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. He is a member of the Citistates Group and a board member of NYC Outward Bound Schools and the Center for Employment Opportunities.
