My Infrastructure Week Idea, Improved

 #333: Jabs, Jobs and Justice

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A few loyal readers have let me know that my take on Infrastructure Week needs to be... "refined", was the word used.  That it was on the right track, but needed... "touching up", since holding a vote on infrastructure spending in each of hundreds of localities would be difficult to handle.  And what if Iowa wanted bio-fuel demonstration projects and Biden had to say 'no'?

Okay, I'll bite.  Keep the focus at the local level: each House district is guaranteed three billion dollars over ten years, with most coming in 2022 and 2023.  That's $435 B (plus 1, for DC) x 3 = 1.308 trillion, which is 58.1333% of what the Biden plan proposes (remaining monies would be spent where needed).  But, instead of generalized "water pipes, bridges and charging stations", describe each congressional district's haul, including specific projects and the job numbers involved.

So, for example, each year:

200 Charging Stations: 400 construction jobs

10,000 Home Energy Retrofits: 3,000 HVAC jobs

500 Lead Pipe and Paint Removal Actions: 300 maintenance jobs

100,000 farmland Acres Converted to Regenerative Agriculture: 1,000 permanent farm economy jobs

5,000 schoolroom retrofits: 1,000 construction jobs

Top Ten Road and Bridge Projects (named, using state and local lists): 500 construction jobs

and so on

Each district would be different, of course.  Some would be the site of major research labs, some would need broadband more than others, some would have a greater need for elder care upgrades, etc.  But each would be guaranteed their $3 billion.

Most project lists would be put together by congressional support staff, with listening tours conducted in-district to gather suggestions, winnow ideas, and receive feedback.  For districts where the elected representative declines to participate (this would be expected in many Republican districts), a panel of elected mayors, county board members, and/or other volunteers (prominent business owners, journalists, professors) could be appointed by the local Democratic party, with bi-partisan membership being the goal, if not the end result.

A plan for each congressional district, addressing specific local needs, and promising specific numbers of additional jobs, would be all but impossible to defeat, either as legislation that is quickly agreed to--with or without bi-partisan support in the Senate--or as a plan that is the central issue in the 2022 election.  

The Democratic party slogan could be: Jabs, Jobs and Justice.