Economics
Pelosi: Passing a Wall Street Transport Tax Would Require Overseas Buy-in
Any proposal to fund new U.S. infrastructure investment by taxing financial transactions -- such as Rep. Pete DeFazio's (D-OR) bill taxing Wall Street oil speculators -- would require international participation to prevent the trades in question from migrating overseas, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said today.
November 19, 2009
DeFazio: Summers, Geithner Oppose Using Bailout Money on Infrastructure
As Streetsblog Capitol Hill readers may know, there is no love lost between lawmakers on the House transportation committee and President Obama's economic advisers.
November 19, 2009
A Warning From America’s Cities: The Recession Has Only Just Begun to Hit
President Obama may be optimistic about continued U.S. economic growth as 2009 ends, but the reality on the ground in urban America -- which an estimated two-thirds of the population calls home -- is undeniably, disturbingly bleak.
November 19, 2009
Senate to Take Up Mysterious ‘Jobs Bill’ — Is Infrastructure in the Mix?
The notion of a "front-loaded" infrastructure bill to counter the rising U.S. unemployment rate has been circulating in Washington for some time, though solid details on such a measure have yet to emerge.
November 11, 2009
Meet the Obama Administration’s New Clean Energy Loan Man
The Department of Energy (DoE) yesterday chose venture capitalist Jonathan Silver to head up its loan programs, which include $25 billion in loan guarantees for low-emissions cars and $32 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects.
November 11, 2009
Chrysler: Taking Taxpayer Money and Running Away From Cleaner Cars
When Chrysler asked the government for a second round of bailout money in February, it submitted a 177-page restructuring plan that vowed to usher in a new era of fuel-efficient vehicles at the famously gas-chugging automaker.
November 11, 2009
Clinton’s Budget Director Backs Congestion Pricing, VMT Tax
Alice Rivlin, now at the Brookings Institution, is one of the capital's most experienced economic hands.
November 10, 2009
GOP Chief Steele on Infrastructure Spending: ‘That’s Not Creating Jobs!’
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele appeared on ABC News yesterday, and Daily Kos' Jed Lewison caught him making a pretty strange argument against federal spending to improve the nation's infrastructure.
November 9, 2009
Buffett’s Bet on Burlington: What Does it Mean for Transport and Energy?
The financial world was riveted this morning by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's move to take full ownership of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad, a $34 billion deal that ranks as the largest ever executed by Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway.
November 3, 2009
Obama Calls For ‘More Creative’ Ways to Pay For Infrastructure
At a meeting today with his outside economic recovery advisers, President Obama emphasized the importance of shoring up the nation's crumbling infrastructure but warned that the mounting federal deficit would require "more creative, new approaches to financing" investment in transit, bridges, and road repairs.
November 2, 2009