Rebuilding America

President Obama has pushed for more spending on bridges, roads and railways, but according to the American Society of Civil Engineers it would take $2.2 trillion over five years just to get the nation’s infrastructure into decent shape. In his new book Bold Endeavors, Felix Rohatyn (the investment banker who kept New York City from going Bankrupt in the 1970’s) argues that lots of federal sending is needed to keep the nation from falling apart- literally. He also offers ten examples from our past that he says worked, like the construction of the Erie Canal and the building of the transcontinental railroad.