INFRASTRUCTURE….Conservative wunderkind pollster Frank Luntz says he’s amazed: Americans really, really want more spending on infrastructure, even if it means higher taxes:
Last month, I conducted a national survey of 800 registered voters on their attitudes toward infrastructure investment….The survey’s findings were unlike any other issue I have polled in more than a decade.
….Fully 84% of the public wants more money spent by the federal government — and 83% wants more spent by state governments — to improve America’s infrastructure. And here’s the kicker: 81% of Americans are personally prepared to pay 1% more in taxes for the cause. It’s not uncommon for people to say they’d pay more to get more, but when you ask them to respond to a specific amount, support evaporates.
….And Americans understand that infrastructure is not just roads, bridges and rails. In fact, they rated fixing energy facilities as their highest priority.
Roads and highways scored second, and clean-water treatment facilities third.
And what impresses Luntz the most about all this? That even 74% of Republicans are willing to pay higher taxes to improve infrastructure.
The lesson here is one that won’t be new to blog readers: economic stimulus is all well and good, but infrastructure is mainly a long-term commitment. It’s fine to get it kick started in the current legislation — even at the risk of bits of it being a “muddled mixture” — but Obama should make it clear that this is something that will be properly planned, properly funded, and properly prioritized in the out years. That means fewer roads, but more transit, more electrical grids, and more wind farms. Right?
