Massive infrastructure spending to ease national gridlock

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Forget gridlock in Washington hitting us in our wallets were being hit hard by real gridlock on the road.

A new report showing the -- Average driver stuck in traffic is wasting a whopping 818.

Bucks a year.

So how does some lawmakers want to fix it will you guessed it would billions more in infrastructure spend big would that work or only be a waste of time.

Everybody I'm David -- welcome to Forbes on FOX let's go in bogus slam mr.

Steve Forbes Rick Unger Morgan -- and rich color guard Elizabeth MacDonald.

And John -- we got a full house today -- You say slam the brakes on this plan why.

Because government involved it's going to be awake -- look at other infrastructure in this country like get -- actually you UPS.

You look at that what's been north where roads from government got out of the way they're great infrastructure.

So let's have a private equity involved public private partnerships is -- start but more private equity that way get more for less instead of these long drawn out government procedures.

Bloated wages in the like we'll get more bang for the buck by bringing in.

Free market are.

Well Rick what's wrong with a free markets -- -- a place a government boondoggles -- I'm not against he concept here's where you run into a problem for one thing it's not.

Happening quickly enough we've got a very serious problem that all of us should be able to agree to the other problem is.

There are certain things like roadways that you cannot give a monopoly.

28 to a private company what what's what's a government -- except the public monopoly.

Well yeah I don't you feel even knew David don't you fill a bit better with all of us who own the government having control over -- -- one private company and could turn -- the -- -- leaping from game and -- probably -- I've seen so many of those public projects just with guys sitting around they take three or 45 times as long as a private projects nevertheless -- does have a point and infrastructure it is crumbling.

Take a listen to what outgoing transportation secretary Ray LaHood had to say when he pitched this new infrastructure plan.

I don't think you'd be turning off people in America because they know that America is one big -- right now and there are a lot of pot holes out there.

Yeah I agree but listen and watch what apple with the last infrastructure spending in the stimulus plan this much money the highways got.

A big fat zero in fact in New Jersey for example that money was spent on.

You know highway ramps to know where I don't know -- that's for the three student.

Way our producer -- -- took these good this is this is a road to nowhere New Jersey their road to nowhere is it right right in New Hampshire all over the place.

Let the light and without one ended up in a brick wall -- -- -- concrete wall who's up for the -- that he is dealt -- through The Three Stooges may -- what they add Alaskan village of population less than 200.

They got a fifteen million dollar airport why not -- -- Las Vegas what happens if it becomes a big pork barrel project at the state level where the states spend the money the states get to have a monopoly on this money at least for her -- whatever they want to get worse.

So many examples have been something to give the Big Dig in Boston which was years over run terribly corrupt.

Originally scheduled for two billion ended up costing fifteen billion dollars from.

New York has a second avenue subway system that's they've been building for about forty years do we need more of this.

No we don't need necessarily more -- bit them -- going back to Steve's point.

Even the idea of a public private partnership is it take the government guarantee it takes a certain amount of money and spending from the government.

But I actually I think we do need to be spending money on infrastructure may be more smartly than some of the examples you just put out there.

Two reasons I think -- com and the first is if if you look at infrastructure spending especially when it's done correctly.

It really gives you a bang for the buck it can create job growth they can create at.

Economic growth there countless studies including a recent one from the San Francisco Federal Reserve that show that's the second reason is because down the road you see better -- -- -- see less air we shall see.

No less health -- -- -- John -- you all so many times you see these cost overruns and delays on projects and and corruption where -- where local look contractors try to get as much as they can out of the government is that ever gonna change.

No it's not gonna change when Rick Unger says we've -- emergency I get nervous about my taxes -- and get an anathema and then turn.

And let's face it if we want better roads we want less traffic it's easy -- out these road building to private profit motive motivated and it is I think you'll see innovation.

And how roads are built.

Prices for the times that you drive those roads and you'll see a reduction in traffic through market forces don't hand it to government's going to waste the money.

Rich -- our -- we had an ice rink here in New York called the woman ice rink in Central Park it's a beautiful place.

But that's government the city government was working on for years and years all these cost over -- all this corruption finally Donald Trump stepped in.

Said hey look give -- -- -- all -- edit half the cost in six months and guess what.

He beat the six months he did it even faster than that today is doesn't Steve have a point when he says private sector should be leaned on not public sector for these things.

Steve makes a great point and you know I understand -- impulse here in -- you can go back to the 1930s the Great Depression.

A lot of public works projects were accomplish and did pretty well and you had things like the Golden Gate Bridge.

Built in four years now takes seven years to build an access road to the -- gate bridge why.

Because we've got this extraordinary stopping power from environmental groups.

We've got -- is a public work unions have slowed down everything -- made everything more expensive.

So we it just doesn't work the way liberals want it to work anymore so we have to go to a private mechanism -- state.

Let let me throw -- and resurrection here because we do -- this incredible highway system in the United States that was that was done in 1950s lot of government.

Private involvement in that can't we read -- replicate that.

When it comes to our crumbling bridges and stuff.

If we couldn't build under.

President Obama and 2009 when they're spending hundreds of billions of dollars the answer is no.

The regulatory morass today is just insurmountable on the government level and politics plays a role for example we waste literally hundreds of billions of dollars of mass transit.

Mass transit has a role in certain parts of the country but tens of -- been thrown away in other parts of the country.

What could have been used for real infrastructure so -- may have been a time when these public project he's massive public projects like building highways where is good but.

Now it is just too many -- to make it -- look -- I'm willing to try your way the problem is -- I don't see the private market stepping up to do this job and I didn't -- well let me finish and in the meantime.

This country is turning into a Third World nation our infrastructure and truly is probably.

The American -- states are using private contractors and -- -- for option at that level.

And the real problem is listen we have an oil and gas boom our infrastructure on that level is really -- there's a real bottleneck -- refineries.

We're gonna need more than pipelines to get that oil process that we can make that a -- of part of the economy and Morgan I I think -- has a point when he goes after monopolies but the worst monopoly of all is a government monopoly the government we cuts out all the private sector competition and that usually leads to corruption no I.

I think that's not necessarily -- even quite -- some actually some really positive examples of where infrastructure spending has been a lot of good.

Adding Salt Lake City is a great example they have a new light rail line there they've done some updates to the highways and -- one of the strongest job growth rates in the entire country.

Talk to economists there they would tell you the -- solution that's been around instead linked to that rich -- -- only Africa.

What can you -- Utah's a low tax Republicans -- on the cup.

But you know we're talking about it.

-- -- very new York and San Francisco and Chicago.

With the corruption and the public employee unions for Canada and -- can't be happening -- -- -- light rail programs are actually used to full efficiency very few right.

I'm come from Southern California and and -- never used at all and I think what we talk about infrastructure more broadly yes we have an impressive national highway system and that's the scene.

But the unseen is how much better it would be and how much more cheaply it would have been built -- how much -- -- today.

If we have left this to private profit motivated.

Companies last word from John -- thank you can.

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Massive infrastructure spending to ease national gridlock

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