Infrastructure Work Promises Millions of Jobs
So says a new study done by The Milken Institute with funding from the National Association of Manufacturers. The report looks both at infrastructure work and promoting exports, which the president addressed in his State of the Union speech.
A new study from The Milken Institute estimates 3.4 million construction- and R&D-related jobs would be created by 10 specific infrastructure projects, some of which President Obama mentioned Wednesday during his first State of the Union speech. The projects are highway and transit projects; broadband; offshore drilling and domestic development of oil and natural gas; drinking water and wastewater infrastructure; the smart grid; nuclear energy; renewable energy; the NextGen air traffic control system; inland waterways; and clean coal.
The National Association of Manufacturers funded the institute's research, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has hailed the report. Along with its analysis of the infrastructure projects, the "Jobs for America: Investments and Policies for Economic Growth and Competitiveness" report says reducing U.S. corporate income tax rates from the current 35 percent to 22 percent would create 2.13 million jobs by 2019 and stimulate growth; increasing the R&D tax credit by 25 percent permanently would create 316,000 manufacturing jobs during the same timeframe; and modernized export controls on some technology products would boost U.S. exports, creating 340,000 jobs by 2019.
"It has become painfully apparent," the report's summary states, "that U.S. infrastructure, once the envy of the world, is now strained and aging. Modernizing in multiple areas represents an opportunity to create thousands of jobs and jumpstart the economy in the near term."