President Barack Obama hopes that a $50 billion infusion of government money
will help counteract two things that plague the nation—job loss and potholes. The
White House has a list they see as “tangible” goals for the next six years, with a focus on roads, railways, and runways. So, what might you, the taxpayer, get for $50 billion?

If the president has his way, a commitment to a national high speed rail system,
more of an investment in sustainability and livability—including affordable housing—better bridges, and a more modern air traffic control system called NextGen. A key part of Obama’s ambitious transportation and infrastructure plan is the creation of a so called ‘infrastructure bank’ to be run by the government but with some infusion of private funds. The idea behind the bank is that project will be approved based on merit, versus the usual pork barrel politics that get project funding directed towards an official’s home district.

While this all sounds promising, our friends over at the Infrastructurist feel there are still a lot of questions to be answered about the plan, chiefly how it won’t become bogged down in the usual partisan gridlock.