Infrastructure spending could save economy

In his book, "Losing Our Way," Bob Herbert said, "Employment is the one absolutely essential binding element of American society. When Americans cannot find jobs at good wages, everything else falls apart."

Such a simple concept. So why can't our representatives in Washington understand it? Here we are, 16 years after the election of George W. Bush and the subsequent collapse of the economy and we are still living in troubled times.

Both Bush and Obama implemented plans to bail out the large financial corporations who helped bring the country to its knees. They were deemed too big to fail. What a concept. Destroy the economy and be rewarded with welfare.

I suppose it would follow that the unemployed were too small to matter.

When people have jobs that pay livable wages, they spend money on goods and services and pay taxes. Everybody wins. Instead of bailing out the greedy, they should have used the money to put people back to work.

When Roosevelt became president he implemented programs, such as the WPA, that put people back to work while improving the quality of life in America. After WW11, President Truman implemented the airlift plan that rebuilt Europe. Then President Eisenhower implemented the interstate highway plan that linked America together from coast to coast. Yes, it cost money, but it paid for itself many times over, America prospered and the middle class grew.

Our infrastructure became the envy of the free world. Things don't last forever, though. The need is there and so is the opportunity. A nationwide plan to rebuild our decaying infrastructure would pay for itself many times over.

Of course, for anything to happen, elected officials have to work toward a common goal. If they won't, we need to elect ones that will.

Ron Flowers

Elk Grove Village