• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » What Do the Dems Propose for Infrastructure Spending?

What Do the Dems Propose for Infrastructure Spending?

What Do the Dems Propose for Infrastructure Spending?
February 27, 2020
Helen Atkinson, SCB Contributor

Last week saw some of the Democratic presidential hopefuls weighing in on the often-neglected issue of infrastructure spending, at a "Moving America Forward" event in Las Vegas, ahead of the Nevada caucus.  

To sum up, Joe Biden proposed spending $1.3 trillion over the next 10 years to rebuild road, bridges, buildings, and the electric grid. Intriguingly, he championed inland waterborne freight transport as a way to address climate change, with plans to modernize the nation’s locks and dams.

This seems eminently sensible to me. I live close to the Hudson River, and rarely see anything other than the odd barge pushing fuel oil and construction equipment up this fantastically low-cost and uncongested freight route. Wouldn’t it be great to make more use of this super-highway that connects the Eastern seaboard (and international trade) with more than 2 million people, while countless trucks clog the New York State Thruway, which runs parallel?

What a shame the Erie Canal and Delaware-Hudson Canal are no longer viable water freight routes, having been significantly filled in. It might be worth considering re-opening them in the future, not least as job-generating projects. After all, in 1853, the Erie Canal carried 62% of all U.S. trade.

Amy Klobuchar stressed how she would improve high-speed internet connectivity across rural America. This was part of her proposal to spend $650 billion in federal funds to fix U.S. infrastructure. Lack of connectivity, via cell towers at least, was highlighted last week by this troubling story from a journalist stranded when her connected car lost signal. We might be further from the internet-of-things paradise than we’ve been led to believe.

Klobuchar also said she would create a clean energy bank, with $250 billion made available to finance innovative technologies, leveraging public funds to attract private investment. Pete Buttigieg, too, likes the idea of a clean energy bank, also apportioning $250 billion of his proposed $1 trillion infrastructure budget to one.

Tom Steyer pushed the proposed infrastructure spending proposal higher, to $2 trillion, focusing on “climate resilient” projects that include $775 billion for electric vehicle charging stations.

Apparently nobody had anything to say about rail, even though it presents an attractive proposition for greener freight transport (and less congestion, and fewer road deaths).

Should Donald Trump win another four-year term, the realistic best scenario is that he will make good on his pledge to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure in the next 10 years, $810 billion of which is earmarked for improving surface transportation. Looks like we could be stuck with trucks for a good long while.

Helen Atkinson is a contributing writer to SupplyChainBrain.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Logistics LTL/Truckload Services Rail & Intermodal Transportation & Distribution
KEYWORDS LTL/Truckload Services Rail & Intermodal Transportation & Distribution
  • Related Articles

    Truckers Propose a Gasoline Tax Increase to Pay for Infrastructure Plan

    Watch: What Are the Chances for Infrastructure Funding This Year?

    The Infrastructure Crisis: What’s the Political Reality?

Helen Atkinson, SCB Contributor

Walmart to Debut Amazon Prime Challenger This Month

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A HAND TURNS A LARGE, LIGHTED DIAL WITH THE WORD RISK ON IT iStock-NicoElNino-1364371014.jpg

    Measuring KPIs and KRIs for Comprehensive Supplier Performance Management

    Technology
  • GSCMS-Promo.png

    Watch: Introducing the Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit

    Education & Professional Development
  • A COMPLEX SERIES OF ROADWAYS AND RAMPS, SEEN FROM HIGH ABOVE, IS PARTLY SHROUDED BY CLOUD

    Supply Chain Visibility Isn’t Just a Catchphrase; It’s an Imperative

    Logistics
  • A MAN IN A SUIT SITS LEANING OVER THE BACK OF A CHAIR IN A WOOD-PANELLED ROOM FULL OF LARGE PHOTOS OF OTHER MEN IN SUITS

    UPS Faces Rising Labor Costs, Strike Risk in Upcoming Union Fight

    Last Mile Delivery

Digital Edition

Scb q1 2023 cover

2023 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide: Packing for a Difficult Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing