Three Rotten Governors Endorse Public Private Partnerships

I tend to side with the Reason camp on public-private partnerships, but shouldn't we be very afraid when the concept is endorsed by governors as terrible as Arnold Schwarzenegger and David Paterson?

Can the United States recover from the current economic crisis and compete in the 21st century? Of course we can. We have the brightest minds, the best universities, the most dynamic companies, and a thriving tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship.

To regain our economic competitiveness, however, we must face up to a hard truth: our infrastructure is falling apart.

Ever since the 1970s, public investment in infrastructure has been steadily declining. And today, we are paying the price -- with traffic-clogged roads, rusting bridges, delayed trains, canceled flights, overcrowded classrooms, outdated hospitals, failing water and sewer systems, and an obsolete energy grid.

Here's another hard truth: just as America's infrastructure is falling apart, our competitors are strengthening theirs. China, for example, plans to build 55,000 miles of highways -- more than the entire length of the American interstate highway system -- and 7,500 miles of high-speed rail between now and 2020.

The good news is that we already possess the technology and expertise to build a world-class infrastructure. The bad news is that it will be expensive -- and state and local governments, which traditionally finance infrastructure projects, lack the necessary resources. (While President Obama's economic stimulus plan has been successful in putting people back to work, it is, by design, a short-term solution that represents only a small fraction of the long-term investment we need.)

Therefore, if we are to finance and build a world-class infrastructure for America, we must seek new solutions. And a promising solution is at hand: public-private partnerships.

Huffington Post: The Moment for Public-Private Partnerships Is Now