Rewarding Bad Behavior

The new economic stimulus package raises a concern for me. I am wondering if it penalizes those who have been the most prudent. 

No, I am not talking about good homeowners versus bad homeowners.

I am talking about those states and commonwealths and territories and districts who have, over the years, created long-term models for infrastructure development which are not responsive to "shovel-ready" demands.  

I know it is important to get the economy going quickly, and getting the money flowing through needed projects is essential, so we are not just throwing money at the problem but rather getting something enduring for our money. 

Let me cite one precise example.  

The United States is pitifully behind in the development of High Speed Rail.  In this country, getting a train up to a speed of 90 miles per hour is considered working on high speed rail.  The Acela high speed train sets of AMTRAK, while capable of 150 mph, reach top speed of 135 for less than 10% of their routes, and their average operating speed is 69 mph.

In  China, Turkey, Russia, South Korea, Japan, and all of Europe cruising speeds of 150+ mph and overall  operating speeds of 120+ are not only the goal, but the achievement. 

For the US to join the worldwide High Speed Rail club  (which would reduce air pollution and congestion) would require innovative, long-term planning.  But it must be relevant, state-of-the-art planning.  If we today were to work off of "shovel-ready" 1990 plans, we would stay well behind the curve.

However, if we were to create a 2009 plan right now, the planning alone would takes several years, and if we then had to wait for funding, the likelihood would be that all we would do is fund something already out of date. 

Most of the projects which are "shovel-ready" are projects which, by reason of design or application, are of the past, not the future.  It is easy to come up with quick plans fix broken ancient water mains, but it is hard to come up with quick plans to equip the nation with cutting edge broadband. 

Likewise, it is easy to cut a contract to repave the Interstates, but hard to cut a contract to begin the construction of a true high speed rail line. 

Now, I am all for the stimulus package.  Inaction at this time is not what we need.  However, I worry that we will spend all that money simply to get us to 2009, and not to get us to 2020.  We need some way to reward those who have long term plans, not just those ready and eager in the short term. 

Once more picking what can be done quickly rewards bad behavior.  I hope we can see a transition in the next few years to a culture which rewards the visionary and not just the expedient.