Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

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There's a great piece in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Karen Cinpinski lamenting the demise of Harry W. Schwartz bookshops. In it, she reminds us that "for each dollar spent in a locally owned bookstore, 68 cents remains in the community; however, only 13 cents of each dollar spent at Borders stays here, according to Our Milwaukee, a business alliance that advocates for locally owned institutions."

delocator.net is a handy tool that'll help you find coffee, books and movies in your very own zip code. Some of the info is a bit outdated, but updates are regular and you can always call ahead.

Anti-Sick Day ordinance is anti-citizen action as well: EDC nonetheless votes to recommend passage

Monday night’s Franklin Economic Development meeting contained no surprises as far as the proposed anti-Sick Pay ordinance - - at least from my standpoint. There were, however, probably a few EDC members who were unaccustomed to one of their own making arguments for a more long-term economic benefit than the short-term business benefits generally advocated for by the commission.

I’ve previously written about this ill-advised ordinance here, here and here, so there’s no sense in rehashing it again. Unfortunately - - though the debate was lively and, I feel, instructive - - Monday evening’s discussion spent far too much time on Milwaukee’s Sick Pay law and not enough time on the specific ordinance drafted by Alderman Steve Olson (who was admittedly jumping on a bandwagon; the language and intent were largely lifted from ordinances created in West Allis and Bayside). Olson’s ordinance does not at all mention “sick days,” though the ordinance is clearly intended to provide “protection” for Franklin from the “threat” of a future Sick Pay law.

No, our job should have been limited to determining whether the EDC should recommend to the Common Council that they vote to pass a “me-too” ordinance that preemptively addresses an issue that is not before this community at this time. The issue of whether sick pay is a good policy is immaterial; the issue is whether the EDC should encourage the city of Franklin to pass an ordinance that does little more than vandalize the Milwaukee law, and indeed tamper with its integrity as the law is inevitably going to face a court challenge.  

Another reason we should not have discussed the sick pay issue separate from Olson’s proposed ordinance is the fact that the members of the EDC were ill-prepared for that kind of debate.

I asked the commission as a whole if anyone could tell me what year the sick pay law went into effect in San Francisco. No one knew the answer. I asked, then, if they knew anything about the impact of that law in S.F. Apart from Chairman Ken Skowronski mentioning anecdotally that personal friends in the region who work in the area of development and remodeling in San Diego and Los Angeles as well as S.F. told him that the law has had a “big impact” (though I can think of other reasons for that downturn), no one had an answer.

I, however, did have an answer. Despite an economic downturn affecting all counties in the Bay area, following adoption of the sick pay law San Francisco maintained a competitive job growth rate that exceeded the average rate of nearby counties (thank you Profs. Marc Levine and Michael Rosen). This despite the predictable wailing and gnashing of teeth from the SF business community when the law was proposed.

Then I asked if anyone present had actually read the Milwaukee Sick Pay legislation. No one had. So I showed them my copy, which is tabbed and yellow-highlighted with my own notes and concerns on what is, frankly, a flawed law at this point. Flawed, but the basis for a family-strengthening principle that can be solidified during the court challenge. And strong, financially secure families lead to strong, deep economies.

But, should we really have been discussing legislation no one else had bothered to read?

How about data suggesting that a sick day law would adversely affect Franklin? None present. My packet for the meeting did contain, however, a printout of a PowerPoint presentation by a law office that I would consider anti-sick pay.

It is also interesting to note that the fear here (legislation based on fear; wonderful) is that Franklin might someday face direct legislation that would foist a sick day law on the city; Olson’s ordinance apparently prevents citizen action.

So, let’s repeat that: An ordinance that prevents citizen action. In other words, we are supposed to fear the will of our own citizens, from whom such a referendum would spring?

The vote was 8-2 to recommend the Council pass the ordinance. (Jon Zawacki and I were the sole "no" votes; another member was on the fence and could have easily voted "no" as well but instead voted "yes, with reservations.") Chairman Skowronski exercised his discretionary vote, adding the extra "yes."

"Yes" and "no" were the only options presented to us. The Finance Committee handled things differently and, I think, in a superior manner. More on that later, as well as information on the Staybridge grant issue I brought to the agenda.

One additional point: It’s interesting to note that one of Franklin’s few direct legislation episodes created the city’s Ethics Board.

And the city no longer has an Ethics Board.

(See also Franklin Today)

Sick Pay: "Sets a dangerous precedent because it interferes with business operations"

ABOVE: A scene from the good old days, before "government interference with business operations."

Child labor laws

Minimum wage

Social Security

Worker's compensation

Unemployment compensation

Discrimination laws

Above is a partial list of "interferences with business operations" that have occurred in recent American history. Each of these "interferences" were met with an outcry from the business community, who claimed their ruination would result from, for instance, having to pay an adult when they could get a kid to do the job for so much cheaper.

None of the items in the list above occurred spontaneously. They had to be mandated by the government, with business fighting every inch of the way. It is, after all, so darn efficient to pay a bunch of 11 year-olds fifteen cents an hour for a 12 hour day; adults tend to "complain" and - gasp - organize.

Lo and behold, the "interferences" listed above have helped create the greatest country in the world, where workers enjoy a standard of living unmatched in history. Business complained, then adjusted.

This letter writer from today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel seems unmoved by history, however: 

A bad precedent

Citizens determining sick leave benefits for companies doing business in Milwaukee sets a dangerous precedent because it interferes with business operations. What is going to be next? Determining salaries and wages? Where collective bargaining is involved, this takes away the union's right to do collective bargaining.

People who do not work for the companies affected have no business deciding how a business should operate, since they suffer no consequences for the result of their decision.

Initiatives, referendums and recalls should be used sparingly. California uses them routinely, and now it is a fiscal mess.

Al Rindfleisch
Franklin

I especially like his notion that "they suffer no consequences for the result of their decision." Now there's a man who genuinely believes the world ends at his garage door.

Fortunately, today's paper also included an excellent piece from some guys who know a thing or two about history, economic development, and urban theory - - because they are professors of history, economic development and urban studies.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

            Sick pay is smart economically

By Marc Levine and Michael Rosen

Posted: Jan. 22, 2009

As academic researchers on economic development and workplace productivity, we applaud the Milwaukee's new guarantee of paid sick days. Experience and research have shown this to be a sound economic development measure.

Milwaukee has the seventh-highest poverty rate in the nation, a 51% African-American male jobless rate and the largest racial disparities in unemployment and poverty in the country. Forty-three percent of the city's workers earn less than $20,000 a year, and many are among the 122,230 Milwaukeeans (47% of the private work force) who do not have paid sick days.

Everyone agrees Milwaukee needs more family-supporting jobs. Yet employment that lacks paid sick days forces employees to choose between their jobs and caring for their families - this is not a family-supporting job.

The lack of paid sick days hampers economic development in Milwaukee in myriad ways:

• It costs workers job stability; employees who become too ill to work or who take off to care for a sick child or parent are frequently fired.
• It costs companies in stability and productivity, turnover, training and absenteeism and in health care expenses.
• It contributes to Milwaukee's high rates of student absenteeism as older siblings stay home to care for sick younger siblings because their parents are denied that right.
• It creates public health risks, forcing employees with contagious illnesses to put co-workers and customers at risk.

Opponents say requiring paid sick days is a worthy objective but not economically viable. Some have invoked the recession as a reason to oppose it.

But these opponents offer the same discredited methodology and arguments that low-road employers have used historically in opposing child labor laws, minimum wage, workers compensation, clean air regulations and virtually every other labor standard this nation has adopted. Each time the opposition characterized the new labor or community standard as a job killer. And after each standard was established, the business community adapted, the economy grew and our country, its workers and their families were better for it.

In the 1990s, business lobbyists used a similar argument to oppose raising the minimum wage. But after states and even cities raised wages above the national minimum, economists found the Chicken Little scenarios did not occur: Incremental increases did not increase unemployment or cause minimum wage-paying firms to lay people off. Those state and local victories paved the way for advances on the national level.

Facing similar dire warnings, San Francisco enacted a paid sick leave ordinance in 2007. However, despite an economic downturn affecting all counties in the Bay Area, San Francisco maintained a competitive job growth rate that exceeded the average rate of nearby counties.

Of the 20 most competitive economies, only the United States does not guarantee its workers paid sick days.

In a world in which 2 billion people live on less than $2 a day, Milwaukee will not succeed by trying to get poor. The only way Milwaukee can thrive is by getting smart - competing with high-skill, high-productivity, high-wage employees.

Opponents of the sick leave initiative, such as the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, point out that many of their members already provide paid sick leave. These members should welcome higher standards for all employers, which would protect against unfair competition from businesses without standards and would prevent a destructive race to the bottom.

Providing all Milwaukee workers with paid sick days is the right thing to do. It's also the smart thing to do. Firms that treat their employees humanely benefit from increased commitment, inventiveness and productivity - the keys to competing in an increasingly competitive global economy.

Marc Levine is a professor of history, economic development and urban studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Michael Rosen is a professor of economics at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Sick Leave: The anti-family legislation beauty pageant/drag race

As the suburbs clamor to reassure business leaders by repealing in advance any "threat" of a sick pay rule in their pro-pro-pro-business enclaves, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel letter writer reminds us of a legislative reality apparently overlooked by the suburbs who want to pre-void the rule, as well as a moral principle that seems to have gone by the wayside.

In the meantime, as long as so many suburbs are racing one another to kill family-friendly legislation before it is even proposed in their cities, maybe business groups like The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce need to grade suburbs on how quickly  and cheerfully they adopted their particular anti-sick leave measure and give style points as well.

Hurry, fellow suburbs!

Economic realities acknowledged

Editorial columnist Patrick McIlheran suggested in the Jan. 7 column "More people shafted by sick pay rule" that the paid sick leave ordinance - passed by 69% of Milwaukee voters - is an example of a "runaway democracy" that fails to take into account economic realities.

No doubt economic realities need to be taken seriously, which is why the ordinance calls for a 90-day period to draft implementation laws so that concerns voiced by employers can be addressed. Our actions speak to our values, as do the laws we create. By passing the paid sick leave ordinance, Milwaukeeans made a statement that a sense of responsibility for others still exists.

According to our faith traditions, the highest form of charity is the one that helps a person rise out of poverty - an effort dignifying to both parties. Milwaukee's defense of family-supporting jobs does not weaken our economy; it brings us closer to a just economy and world.

Far from being a case of "runaway democracy," the 90-day rule of the paid sick leave ordinance invites democratic cooperation to explore ways to build a strong business community that expresses our most cherished values.

David Baruch
Milwaukee

"They don't understand that what Americans need is more nonrational, nonpurposeful interaction with people with whom they have no natural common cause. "

 

Image from CoolTown Studios

Long-lamented in this blog is the lack of appreciable public space in Franklin and modern suburbs in general. It's my contention that a great deal of the boorish behavior you see between and among certain online and talk radio denizens (I won't include any ironic links here) is fueled by the fact that, well, people don't mix anymore. There is little, if any, opportunity for routine social interaction with people outside of our ideological comfort zone; the echo chamber some people maintain feeds an almost pathological sense of "us vs. them" at the expense of any vestige of real engagement. Ideology becomes dogma, and dogma is immovable.

I've been fortunate enough to eventually meet in person most of Franklin's local bloggers and city politicians - - some of whom I disagree with on a great many issues - - in completely contrived (but otherwise pleasant) situations. These big and small gatherings have been instructive and enormously gratifying to everyone involved - - a concrete manifestation of the "New Day" for local government many anticipated when two sitting "old guard" aldermen were defeated in the most recent election.

People still disagree, but actual ideas are exchanged. Arguments rise and fall without resorting to personal attacks. Persons with different world-views find common ground.

Things are different than they were as recently as a year ago. I'll attend an Economic Development Commission meeting next week as a member, and everyone there might disagree with every word out of my mouth, but the ideological complexion of that commission is now different than it was before I got there. I'll push for incentives to help smaller, locally-owned cafes, restaurants and coffee shops develop, grow and survive (and ask why huge, self-sufficient chains like Staybridge get incentive funds after they've already committed to Franklin). They can all roll their eyes at me, but at the very least we will put that now-mysterious process under a microscope and the idea that small businesses have community economic value will be out in the open.

An interesting intersection with Day One of the Obama presidency.

One local blogger who is particularly fond of simply ridiculing or lobbing names at those who don't agree with him (he defames groups and individuals with equal glee) likes to mock the idea that things have indeed fundamentally changed, locally or nationally; he clings to a fading "old boy" paradigm, though the coattails available to him are getting scarce. Perhaps it's no coincidence that I have yet to meet this particular person in the flesh or indeed even sight him at a single local meeting, event, gathering or place of business. He seems to limit himself to VIP (i.e. coattail) events.

Granted, the odds of incidental contact are low in suburban enclaves like Franklin (where we go from garage to parking ramp and back again) but I think this person could benefit from a few sessions "out among the public," as he once put it, in unstructured, non-VIP circumstances.

But it's more likely that he wants to remain entrenched; "nuance" is not marketable. World Wrestling Foundation-level rhetoric evidently pays the bills, and Us vs. Them is much, much easier to maintain when you don't have to look Them in the eye and get to know Them as actual human beings.

With that in mind, here's yet another column praising the almost-forgotten concept of The Third Place and its value to us as human beings capable of empathy and tolerance for people who are not exactly like us.

From the Dallas Morning News:

Gregory Rodriguez: Long live the corner cafe

Friday, December 5, 2008

The economic sky might be falling, but here I am at Starbucks in Los Angeles' Koreatown fretting over the death of the cafe. Really.

The New York Times recently had a story about the decline of traditional cafes and bars in France – there were 200,000 in 1960, and today there are only 41,500. It made my heart sink. I mean, if the French are losing the art of sitting around in public doing nothing together, what hope do we Calvinistic Americans have?

You think I'm kidding. But if the economy does tank totally, all we've really got is one another.

Here in the U.S., we fetishize family to the detriment of our collective civic life. Our academics mourn the loss of "social capital." They're upset that we're "bowling alone." Fancy foundations give money to bolster "civic engagement." Come on, Americans, they tell us, start interacting with each other again.

The academics and the foundations are on the right track, but there is a problem with their approach to improving civic life. They tend to want people to come together with some sort of common purpose or agenda. They are so mired in the realm of policy and politics, they don't understand that what Americans need is more nonrational, nonpurposeful interaction with people with whom they have no natural common cause.

Not that there's anything wrong with common cause. The campaign was a bright spot in social engagement, on both sides, but especially for the blues: huge rallies, armies of volunteers and high voter turnout.

But one grass-roots campaign isn't enough to turn around the fact that public life is still in steep decline in the U.S., or that we're becoming increasingly less likely to talk to – let alone pal around with – people who don't share our worldview or party affiliation. That's where cafes and bars and diners come in.

It's been two decades since sociologist Ray Oldenburg wrote The Great Good Place, his homage to "third places" – neither work nor home – that help us get through life. "The structure of the urban, industrialized society is not conducive to good human relations," he wrote. "Its high degree of specialization brutalizes many of the relationships people have with one another. The resulting compartmentalization ... leaves individuals ignorant of the 'interests, ideas, habits, problems, likes and dislikes' of those not in their own group."

Coffeehouses, corner bars and restaurants free people from "the obligations of social roles and the styles and demeanor with which those roles must be played. Here, individuals may uncork that which other situations require them to bottle up."

In addition to Starbucks, one of the few true pan-ethnic gathering places in my neighborhood, I frequent the HMS Bounty, an old-fashioned watering hole on Wilshire Boulevard across from where the Ambassador Hotel once stood. On any given night, a motley assortment of characters gathers there to drink and talk, talk and drink. And believe me, we don't always get along.

Some of the strangers there have become acquaintances, and some acquaintances have become friends. What they confirm for me is that civic life isn't about structure; we don't have to play softball or volunteer for a cause to better engage with our world.

It's too bad the French are losing one of their greatest cultural strengths. Their tradition of the public living room set an example for the world. When times get tough, at least we can go for coffee or a glass of wine and learn how everyone else is holding up, or just leave it all behind.

Gregory Rodriguez is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. His e-mail address is [email protected].

What a great day to be an American

Perhaps we have at long last arrived.

Sip some wine for a good cause

The annual Franklin Area Junior Women’s Club Wine Tasting event will be held Friday, February 6th, 6:30pm to 9pm, at Hugo's Steakhouse (6951 S. Lover's Lane Road in Franklin; www.hugossteakhouse.com). Tix are $25 per person and available at Sendik's (51st and Rawson) and North Shore Bank in Franklin.

Also, the GFWC Franklin Area Junior Women’s Club is now called the GFWC-Root River Junior Woman's Club.

Shari Hanneman writes:

The proceeds from this event are funneled directly back into the communities of Franklin, Oak Creek, Hales Corners, and Greendale.  The greatest beneficiary of this successful event has been the paramedic units in Franklin and Oak Creek who received state-of-the-art pediatric emergency equipment.  Now, thanks the efforts of the Franklin Area Juniors who headed up this project, every paramedic unit in Milwaukee County is outfitted with this important equipment.
 
The club also awards a scholarship each year to a graduating senior from each community high school – Oak Creek, Franklin, Whitnall, and Greendale.
 
This will be the first event that the club will be hosting under its new name, the GFWC-Root River Junior Women’s Club!
 
If you are unable to attend, donations to the club are always appreciated as are donated items for our silent auction.  The club is a 501c3 tax exempt organization and donations are tax deductible.
 
We hope you will come out and join us for a fun-filled evening with friends and neighbors that also benefits the community!
 
Wishing you a very happy, healthy, and prosperous new year,

Shari Hanneman
 
p.s. Ladies, new members are always welcome!

Shoppes at Wyndham Village announces tenants

ABOVE: Downtown Greendale

BizTimes.com reports that Shoppes at Wyndham Village has the following tenants signed up:

• Aveda salon
• Ferch's Malt Shoppe & Grille
• Sport Clips
• Cousins Subs (previously announced to great fanfare)

Also noted:

Mid-America, which is handling the leasing for Wyndham Village developer Mark Carstensen Construction & Development Companies Inc., is also negotiating with a "local restaurant," which would occupy a stand-alone 7,000-square-foot building that would be built at the shopping center, Rosenfeld said.

Long rumored, the Ferch's announcement is interesting. On the one hand, hats off to Shoppes for placing a locally-owned business. On the other hand, it may be very instructive to see how the horrendous site plan at Shoppes affects an eatery that is primarily known for the "traditional, strollable" mainstreet vibe that you get at its primary location in Greendale.

The Greendale location is on a residential-type street and adjacent to a wonderful park; the Shoppes location will be adjacent to sheets of asphalt and a very busy intersection.

The "local restaurant" announcement shows some promise. Now the question is: Will they get a break on their liquor fee ala Staybridge Suites?

Paid Sick Leave: Decades too late to prevent child labor laws from taking hold, Alderman rides in on white horse to premptively head off this latest assault on free enterprise

What do you do when the electorate votes overwhelmingly against the wishes of business and instead recognizes the needs of working families who do not, by and large, contribute to your campaign fund?

Why, you attempt to add a little barbed wire to the little medieval wall around your suburb with a meaningless ordinance, of course.

When asked if paid sick leave should be mandatory in the City of Milwaukee, 69% voted for the referendum; 31% against.

Business killer? Hardly. As explained at hrtools.com:

The binding referendum provides that all private sector employees employed within the city will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, but no more than 72 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year ( i.e., nine paid sick days per year with accruals to be carried over from year to year to a maximum of 72 hours). Employees of a “small business,” defined as a company with fewer than 10 workers (including part-time and temporary workers), accrue a maximum bank of 40 hours per calendar year ( i.e., five paid sick days per year). Employees begin to accrue paid sick leave immediately upon beginning their employment, but are not entitled to use the accrued sick leave until the 90th calendar day following the start of employment. The referendum would apply to full, part-time and temporary employees, salaried or hourly workers.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce Inc., predictably, sued the City of Milwaukee to prevent the rule from going into effect on February 10th as mandated.

Some people don't necessarily empathize with persons whose employment and family situations make a simple visit to the doctor precarious. They don't know what it's like to get a call from your child's school saying that he or she is ill and needs to be picked up - but you have 5 hours left on your shift and certainly cannot afford losing the next day at home with your sick child. They have not seen their hours cut or been dismissed outright because of "absences."

They haven't seen kids sent to school very, very sick for the reasons above.

Let's appeal to self-interest: They don't worry - but should -  about the restaurant worker preparing their meal, who is "gutting it out" with an infection rather than miss the day's wages. About $60 -$75 in his or her pocket; wiggly bacteria in your pita.

These same people don't see the need for hourly workers to maintain preventative care in the form of regular checkups and health maintenance.

They don't know that more than three in every four workers - 76% - in the bottom quarter of earnings have no paid sick days.

Can they imagine being the working single mother of a child with a chronic illness?

My wife is a grade school guidance counselor for a nearby district. She sees kids coming to school in terrible shape because their parent - usually a single mom - absolutely cannot take the day off. And the child will probably not see a doctor for the same reason. She knows of at least one parent who lost her job due to illness-related absences; if you're a single parent with three kids, that's four potential illnesses for which you alone are responsible.

It's usually a woman, by the way, facing these pressures and threats, which is why the paid sick days referendum was championed by the National Association of Working Women.

Child care, elder care, self care; none of these factors seem significantly meaningful to opponents of paid sick leave. Because they don't have to deal with those sorts of things.

A couple of suburbs (West Allis and South Milwaukee) have presumptively enacted or proposed ordinances that would prohibit mandatory paid sick leave in their leafy enclaves. Should it ever rear its ugly head.

If Franklin Alderman Steve Olson has his way, my community will join the "honor roll" of suburbs who choose to proactively ignore the needs of people not quite as well-off as most. Wave a big, preemptive flag: DON'T EVEN TRY THAT STUFF AROUND HERE!

Family values?

Fortunately, Olson did not get the quick pass (and accolades) he expected when he introduced the proposal. It's been sent to the Finance, Personnel, and Economic Development Commission (of which I am a member) for their/our input.

This pause for - gasp - thoughtful review and possible alterations did not make Alderman Olson happy. He sent a helpful nudge-note out to the members of the Common Council, along with a link to a website that he supposed would help his colleagues make up their minds:

From: Steve Olson
Sent: Thu 1/8/2009 4:32 PM
To: Alderman; Tom Taylor
Cc: Mark Luberda
Subject: Sick Pay Ordinance

Lady and Gentlemen:

Since there's some hesitancy to make a policy decision about my proposed
ordinance, I refer you all to the link below for additional information that
may help you make a decision on whether preempting sick pay and other
employee benefit direct legislation is a good idea or not.

http://www.bizforgrowth.com/

Since Finance, Personnel and EDC are kicking the cat I'm asking Mark to
forward the link to those committee members as well.

Ald. Olson


Steve Olson
Alderman, 1st District

Yup - he sent them (us) to a business advocacy site set up to support the business-led lawsuit against paid sick leave.

"May help you make a decision...".

So low is his regard for those who slow his progress toward erection of a statue to Alderman Olson in the business park?

This "policy decision" would be better stated as a morality decision. This is a proposal that says: "In advance of any threat to mandate sick days in Franklin, let's go ahead and be vindictive."

I will argue against the superfluous proposed ordinance in my role as a member of the Economic Development Commission - - though I realize I will be a voice in the wilderness in that regard (I spoke with Alderman Steve Taylor about the issue, for instance, and we are on opposite sides).

However, I can foresee a situation where even those who are very much against mandated sick leave will also be against this preemptive, self-indulgent ordinance-for-the-sake-of-chest-thumping ("Look at us! Pro-business!!! Pro-business!!!"). It's just mean-spirited and would paint our city - - and our leaders - - as desperate for the approval of certain elements of the business community.

I think we're better than that.

More at Franklin Today.

UPDATE: Count the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as fans of communities proactively prohibiting sick leave ordinances in one of today's editorials (which I obviously disagree with), and reexamining the current law (which makes more sense - the law should exist in some form).

UPDATE 2: Illusory Tenant points out an interesting conflict of interest that may explain the MJS editorial stance.

Congress for the New Urbanism - Sound Stimulus: How Congress Can Find and Fund the Roads that Reduce Our Oil Addiction and Improve Our Quality of Life

Wise words from CNU's Steve Filmanowitz as the spigot gets ready to open:

With input from the incoming Obama Administration, Congress is now building a stimulus bill that will likely result in the largest investment in U.S. infrastructure since the creation of the interstate highway system.

For this hundred billion or more in spending to leave our country strategically stronger, not weaker, this moment must be used to chart a new direction for the nation’s transportation systems. The stimulus package must fund major investments in public transportation and high-speed rail, one of the causes the T4 America Campaign is leading with CNU’s full support. The bill must fix structurally deficient bridges, rather than target “functionally deficient” highways for expansion-minded rebuilding.

But perhaps most of all, the stimulus must distinguish between the right kind and wrong kind of pavement — those investments that make communities more livable and sustainable versus those that weaken our strategic position and make families frighteningly vulnerable to volatile energy prices.

Read the rest at: Sound Stimulus: How Congress Can Find and Fund the Roads that Reduce Our Oil Addiction and Improve Our Quality of Life | Congress for the New Urbanism: