“THE BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE BANK”

August 21, 2024

Delaware Dispatch, in its August 2024 edition, published a short article (in print) and a long article (online) about the AIB. Regrettably, there was a mix up. Although the author submitted his intended version on time and prior to the submission deadline, what appeared in print (the short article) was not this version. See below for both the short and long articles. 

Author’s Intended Short Article

Every four years, presidential candidates tell us that they can turn things around fast. Maybe they can. Maybe they can’t. If we take a cue or two from America’s past, we can make America the envy of the world again–for sure.  

Two big issues are inflation and infrastructure. Everyone knows that inflation–rising prices—too much money chasing goods and services–is bad. And don’t we all worry about the local bridge falling down or drinking water turning bad or a pothole ruining the chassis of our car?  

What if there were a way to fix what needs fixing and stop the rise in prices—both at the same time? What if this way does a lot more, too? I mean a lot, lot more! What if this way may be the single best thing we can do to stoke productivity, boost the number of good paying jobs and make America great again? Best of all, what if this way lifts the fortunes of everyone in America, Democrats, Independents and Republicans, rich and middle class and poor?  

There is such a way! The country has adopted this way or something similar to this way before.  

Introducing the American Infrastructure Bank (AIB).

An infrastructure bank is a specialized financial institution designed to fund and support infrastructure projects. Some of these banks already operate in several states. The AIB would operate nation-wide. Such banks provide low-cost loans to public and private entities for critical infrastructure developments such as highways, bridges and water projects.

The AIB would be novel in part because an infrastructure bank on the national scale hasn’t been utilized in about a hundred years; something like the AIB was first utilized about 200 years ago. The US Treasury would expand its duties and would set up and operate the AIB something along the lines of the early 20th and early 19th centuries. Preexisting debt was redirected in creative ways. During these periods the government lent a hand to the financing of worthy infrastructure at below market rates, with little or no taxes and with little or no borrowing. The resulting economic stimuli was astounding: the national wealth and GDP grew at a rapid, sustained pace; good-paying jobs sprung up everywhere. Everyone benefited.

There isn’t space in this very short article to explain the aforementioned, incredible way in detail. If you follow the QR Code, you will find the detail. 

Editor’s Note: Dr. Joe Arminio is a policy analyst and native Delawarean, he is helping launch a multi-state educational and lobbying effort on behalf of the AIB. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology awarded him the Doctorate in Political Science, with a specialty in national defense policy. He worked in the foreign policy arena with the American Enterprise Institute, the Department of Defense and the Government Systems Division of telecommunications giant Sprint. In the last twenty years, he has written extensively about domestic policy, as well as foreign policy.