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Obama Gets It in Part: The Economy & Competitiveness Rests on Domestic Infrastructures
The coming Obama Administration plans a $500 + billion spending package to stimulate domestic economic growth through much overdue infrastructure reconstruction. Emphasized: public projects for transportation, alternative energy and education. One hopes that the highway and bridge outlays will include alternative energy support systems and initiatives for clean cars, trucks, trains and tractors so that the two budgets may better mesh.
What remains essential in infrastructure spending that I have not seen discussed by Obama's economic advisors in this spending plan is an infrastructure for biological incident prevention and countermeasures. Whether natural or artificial, the threat of potentially catastrophic bacterial and or viral strains is not a question of "if" but "when."
No previous administration has spent or coordinated sufficient bio-countermeasures compared to the threat that super-strains pose to the nation's economy and security. I hope President Obama blazes a new trail on fixing this oversight. No economic gain benefits the dead.
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Mike ,
Your post is exactly what President elect Obama means when he says we need wherever possible get a "twofer " - that is spend money on dual use infrastructure that will enhance security and stimulate our economy - One possiblity regarding bio terrorism would be to fully fund CDC/Homeland Security Dept for not only rapid response to mass casualty events ( God Lord preserve us ! ) - but also part of that would include massive new research into the next generation antibiotics -maybe exploit the enzyme in the crocodile blood ..But we need to look for the twofers -and we need top have complete transparency about how & where the money is going..
"Transparent twofers" -thats the ticket ...
November 25, 2008 7:20 PM | Reply | Permalink