Many thanks to the folks at Missouri DOT who have recorded a great interview with Keith Miller, our latest Voice of the Recovery Act. Keith is project superintendent on a bridge rebuilding effort in Tuscumbia.
The interview is important because you'll see a front-line guy who gets it--who sees how Recovery Act money not only creates jobs on his project, but also ripples outward through the economy.
Because Keith manages the materials delivered for the project, he has a firsthand view of how the benefits of stimulus grants reach beyond the specific projects funded.
"All the suppliers--the factories that manufacture the steel, the companies that make the concrete--it distributes--there's a lot of cash that comes into their hands that wouldn't if these projects weren't going."
As a supervisor, Keith also sees how local businesses are getting benefits from newly employed bridgeworkers who are buying lunch at local eateries and fuel for their commutes at local gas stations.
"It helps the local community as much as it does the workers who are doing the work. It spreads out more than you'd think."
It's great to see the jobs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act creates directly. But it's also gratifying to see it stimulating the economy indirectly. Through materials and equipment for the job--yes--but also through the retail services that support the Tuscumbia bridge site's new workers.
Through the food they can buy and the cars they can buy parts for. Through the school supplies and clothes they can now afford for their kids.
And it's great that we can do all of that and, at the same time, bring America's transportation networks into the 21st century. As Keith says, "I'm glad to see they're putting money into transportation because that's our lifeline--that's how we get food and supplies from one place to the other."
This is stimulus, and Keith Miller gets it.
The ARRA is the best thing the U.S. economy has had since the New Deal. Even better than the New Deal because the results are more positive and come sooner. Transportation infrastructure building and improvement is moving forward here in Orange County. Metrolink Railroad rail crossings are being improved across the county; new roadwork is going forward on highway connectors and street and highway widening; the new Metrolink station is about ready to start construction in Anaheim, and track improvements are being made as well as safety improvements for new cars and locomotives. And all of this should have a positive ripple effect for the entire southern California economy. But no stimulus went into actual bus operations here even though apparently the OCTA Board had the opportunity to ask for some and they debated asking at some of the Board meetings the final decision on that was no. Then, once that decision was made the Board asked to meet with drivers and mechanics to cut pay and layoff people. Then the Board cut 100,000 hours of service from fixed route buses that will see its greatest impact in a couple of weeks with the fall service change. Last week, the Board got a recommendation from executive staff to cut bus service hours by 300,000 more by June 2010, 4 services changes from now. (They do service changes 4 times a year at OCTA.) Contracts for the drivers and mechanics are up later this year and no talks have started as yet. The chances look good for a long strike and that could wipe out some stimulus gains,especially for workers who need to take the bus or bus and train to get to work. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.
Posted by: Michael E. Bailey | September 01, 2009 at 08:51 PM