Biden’s Gift to New York!

Last weekend, President Biden’s $1.2T infrastructure bill passed, in a bipartisan Senate and House of Representatives. This bill will have a disproportionately positive benefit for New York and Rockaway in particular!

There is an old saying, “the squeaky wheel gets the oil,” and this is what is going to happen with New York since we have more infrastructure needs than every other state except California.  If initial estimates hold true, roughly $170B (over 14% of the total) would be earmarked for New York State infrastructure projects.

The New York Funds Breakdown is as follows:

1. $12.5B:  For Roads, Highways, Bridge Repair, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure.
2. $1B: For our 3 Airports:  JFK, $300M, Laguardia, $150M and Long Island MacArthur, $21M.
3. $58B: For Trains:  $22B for Amtrak Improvements (includes the Gateway Tunnel to NJ Project, $24B for Northeast Corridor Modernization and $12B for Intercity Passenger Rail, including a “High-Speed” Rail! In addition, completion of the 2^nd Ave Q-train to 125^th st. and installed handicapped-accessible elevators at all stations.
4. $90B: For Water Infrastructure:  $14.7B for the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Drinking Water Revolving Fund (provides grants and loans for projects). $14.7B for the EPA’s Clean Water Revolving Fund (for water quality improvement) and $55.4B in Supplemental Emergency Appropriations. 
5. $9.8B: For Clean Buses and Mass Transit.  

While this bill is a “game-changer,” I have mixed feelings about it.  To use an insurance term, it is great to see that both parties can come to somewhat of a consensus by “unbundling” the bill and breaking it off the proposed $2+T “Social Spending” bill.  

My top 5 benefits to the United States from this bill:

1. It will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and get people off couches!
2. This will be a boon to the “Steel Industry!”
3. Additional Modern Roads Will Increase Trucking Efficiencies and Cut Back on Carbon Emissions!
4. Increase Domestic job creation!
5. Drinking Water Quality Will Improve, Which Will Improve American’s Health.  There is a Water Company Called “Heart Water” That Could Solve Our Water Problem if Given the Chance to Scale (keep a lookout for a future column on this).

As we all know, Rockaway has been devastated by Super Storm Sandy. We have shown our resiliency building Rockaway back better over the past 9 years.  This splurge of money can be used to:

1. Fix Rockaway’s roads, especially Beach Channel Drive.
2. Develop Additional Transportation Methods from Rockaway to Manhattan.
3. Continue Improvements for future storm resiliency.
4. Create new jobs in Rockaway.
5. Prices of electric vehicles will come down as auto makers introduce their new EV models.  I predict the 2023-2024 models will be the optimal time to buy electric!  Buying electric and adding charging stations will improve Rockaway’s air quality and reduce carbon emissions.

The general public might not find It easy to grasp how much $1 Trillion dollars is, as we could have done this while spending less money.  According to www.USDebtClock.org, the current US Deficit sits at $28.8 Trillion or $86,637 per person.  The proposed $3.5T package (not yet passed) would be equivalent to over 12% of our current deficit.

To give an example how we got ourselves into this deficit situation, look at the Federal deficit progression below:

President: Debt at Start of Office                       Debt When Leaving Office

George Washington (1789-1797)                       $82 Million:  211 years later

William J. Clinton (1993-2001) $4.4T                 $5.8 Trillion

George W. Bush (2001-2009) $5.8T                  $11.9T

Barack Obama (2009-2017) $11.9T                   $20.2T

Donald J. Trump (2017-2021 $20.2T                 $27T

In summary, this is the largest investment in domestic infrastructure since the 1950s!  It is prudent to spend money on long-term projects with trickle-down effects that will improve this country and our quality of life.