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No Dessert With Free Lunch From Congress

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 1, 2009

A spending bill taking shape in Congress to stimulate the economy could exceed $700 billion, and no community can afford to be left out. Tampa area leaders are right to be assembling wish lists.

President-elect Barack Obama could sign the bill as early as Inauguration Day so construction can start fast to put people to work and pump money into local economies. There's not much time for screening the proposals, so the opportunity for pork, frills and boondoggles is high. The Tampa area should resist any temptation to try to sneak in projects that aren't necessary or have not yet won appropriate approvals.

The federal money is a gift but it sure isn't free. Because the federal budget is already running a deficit, the extra stimulus will come from borrowing, which must be repaid, or by printing money, which causes inflation.

A successful stimulus project will do more than create temporary jobs; it should fuel the future economy to help the nation pay for the astronomical debts being run up.

Obama promises to keep politics to a minimum in the process, which will be hard to do. With the scent of nearly one trillion freshly printed dollars in the air, lobbyists and special interests are working overtime.

And while a feeding frenzy is building in town halls and statehouses around the country, wiser voices are urging caution. Taxpayers don't need, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put it, "earmarks on steroids."

The urgency to get work started will help limit the construction projects to those already far along in planning and public acceptance.

The Tampa Bay Partnership, a business group that champions a stronger economy and regional cooperation, is pulling together a list of some 350 local and regional projects, large and small, costing over $4.8 billion.

Stuart Rogel, partnership president, is exactly right to observe that the best projects are those that, once completed, will create additional jobs and economic growth.

A good example is the expansion of the Moffitt Cancer Center, which would create more research jobs. Another is the long-awaited expressway connection between the Port of Tampa and I-4, which will help the port handle more cargo and take heavy trucks out of Ybor City.

HART, the local transit agency, wants money for a bus-rapid-transit line from Temple Terrace to the airport and to complete a planned expansion of the downtown streetcar line. Both improvements are ready to go and would help more people cut commuting costs.

Adding lanes to congested local interstate highways would also be an economic help. And why not put tolls on the extra lanes to help pay for the construction? The new lanes could also be used for express buses.

A Washington-based group called Building America's Future urges caution on constructing new highways, especially roads local communities don't want. The group suggests the stimulus law require states to spend first on long-delayed maintenance before building new roads, a wise approach.

A hastily packaged emergency-spending bill is the wrong place to put experimental projects that no one would dream of paying for during times of prosperity. But economic-stimulus spending is a perfect for uncontroversial repairs and renovations. The Hillsborough County School System has identified more than $350 million in needed repairs and renovations that could be started right away.

The list includes new windows, doors, and roofs, and more efficient heating and cooling systems. Such renovations will lower energy bills and maintenance costs, and are thus both an immediate stimulus and a guaranteed investment.

The City of Tampa is hoping to speed up a number of useful public-works plans, including repairing bridges and improving the drainage in areas such as Dale Mabry Highway at Henderson Avenue that flood with every heavy rain.

"The city has a lot of old infrastructure that's inadequate or crumbling," says Mayor Pam Iorio.

City residents pay wastewater and water fees, so the federal funding would spare them the additional expense. That is another screen Congress should apply to the long wish list: Is the project meeting a recognized need with a proven solution?

Tampa's list isn't innovative of flashy, but solid pipes and sturdy bridges will pay dividends for years.

Also on the wish lists of local lawmakers are better food inspection, tax breaks for homebuyers, a system to find missing dementia patients, better children's health insurance, and a national catastrophe fund that could reduce costs of property insurance. There are proposals for more defense pending, higher Medicaid reimbursements to states, and more help for veterans.

One of the stronger ideas is from Rep. Kathy Castor, who suggests hiring financial advisers to work with banks and their customers in financial trouble.

The foreclosure crisis has caused a shortage of foreclosure negotiators. This isn't a shoveling-dirt project, but it could provide good jobs fast for real estate agents and others in the housing business until the market rebounds. By working out fair refinancing compromises, the advisers would be helping the financial industry, helping families keep their homes, and helping housing prices stabilize.

It's the sort of payoff lawmakers should be looking for in setting spending priorities.

Unfortunately, the stimulus spending will save more jobs than it creates. Planned spending cuts by state and local governments are likely to be more than the federal stimulus payments they receive.

For example, the Hillsborough school district is facing a $100 million loss of revenue over the next two years, and the state Department of Transportation has had to cut billions from its five-year work program.

Members of Congress who are tempted to choose sexy projects over frumpy ones should remember it was the irresponsible spending on seductive new investments that caused the crisis.

They should consider the stimulus as emergency food, not a banquet. Just stick with the basics and hold the dessert.

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