Underinvestment in job creation, training, education and public services like transportation put middle-class success out of reach for many Americans, while at the other end of the spectrum, wealth has been concentrated in very few hands.
California’s High-Speed Rail Authority and Amtrak on Friday released a joint request for proposals to build trains for California’s planned bullet train and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
Currently, all rail cars and buses purchased with Federal Transit Administration cash must be assembled in the U.S., while only 60 percent of the components must be American-made.
Federal transportation funding is so skimpy that Congress acts like Ebenezer Scrooge when it comes to helping pay for the nation’s roads, subways, buses and other transportation, the AFL-CIO’s top transportation official says.
That’s why our nation’s holiday wish list for 2014 must include a comprehensive vision — and adequate resources — for strengthening the country’s transportation systems, which are the lifeblood of a growing 21st century economy.
Much of $2 billion in new transit money will be built by local workers, thanks to a new agreement by a nonprofit and Chicago’s transit authority.
Hardcore capitalists will argue that transportation authorities should worry about their bottom dollar, especially when it comes to taxpayer money. But hiring and buying local is a sound way to create jobs and leverage public dollars for the best use.
As a continuation and logical expansion of our transportation Buy America advocacy, we are formally announcing participation in the Jobs to Move America Coalition.
