The 2021 infrastructure bill

Washington DC

Description

The good side of the bill After much research, several analyses and studies agree that the initiative will create 3M+ good paying jobs between now and 2025, according to the White House briefing. On top of that, billions of dollars will be saved, the environment will be cleaner, and we will be less exposed to pollution since the wastes will be used in the renewable energy circle. Why is it so important to have a good infrastructure? The shortest and the simplest answer is that " It will save the government and all of us money". In an article written by Caroline Ferguson in 2018, she pointed out the consequences of having poor infrastructure conditions in the country, and she gave us an idea on how much money it causes au without even realizing it. According to her article: In 2014, traffic congestion wasted 6.9 billion hours of motorists’ travel time and almost 3.1 billion gallons of fuel. Driving on poor roads cost motorists roughly $112 billion in additional repair and operating costs annually. If the average daily delay for a UPS truck is five minutes due to bad road conditions or congestion and capacity issues, that translates to $105 million in additional annual costs to UPS alone (time is money). Americans take over 200 million trips daily across deficient bridges in the 102 largest metropolitan regions. Poor infrastructure has led to an increase in traffic fatalities by 7% from 2014 to 2015. The bad side of the bill We also must acknowledge that 11,000 jobs could be lost if the plan is executed. Those who are against it spend more time talking about the negative impact of the bill than the good it will bring to the country. Oil companies will have to switch some of their gears to renewable energy. They will need to adapt their businesses to stay relevant. Car companies would have to produce more electric vehicles. This reminds me of the quote that said : "To make an omelet, you need to break some eggs". That doesn't mean we are insensitive regarding the job loss, but the long-term benefits of the bill are much greater than the pain of losing a few thousand jobs in the short term. Where we are now... Collectively, about 727,000 electric-driven vehicles were sold in 2019 in the country. Also, 1.4 million plug-in electric cars had been sold in the U.S as of 2019 (4). The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) current grade for U.S infrastructure is a D+ estimating that the country needs to spend about $4.5 trillion by 2025 to improve the entirety of its infrastructure. Whether you are a Democrat, Independent or Republican, if you really care about the country and want it to progress toward innovation, better solutions, and a brighter future, isn't it worth to work with this administration to make the country a better place for our children and grandchildren? So far, 17 Republicans are on board and willing to work with Democrats to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Let's see if more Republicans will join the fight!