Killing Multiple Birds With One Stone

TW: Stimulus spending is inevitable in order to address this demand driven recession. Our infrastructure is a disgrace while many (inc. me) believe we need to invest heavily to encourage the transition from fossil fuels to renewable fuels. One of McCain's best ideas in his losing presidential bid was to address and reduce earmark spending. The proposal below seeks to integrate all of those ideas into one new proposal.

Basically strip much of Congress' ability to earmark projects (a very big deal) in return for committing the US to a significant stimulus package focused on infrastructure, the catch being that the outlays would be administered not line by line by Congress but by a bi-partisan commission.

From Joe Klein at Time"
"As Obama told me in our interview, a government-propelled transition to an alternative-energy economy will be his most important initiative...this means a massive infrastructure and stimulus package — in the neighborhood of $300 billion...There is a back-to-the-future quality to this: it's what used to be derided as big-spending liberalism. The Beltway consensus is that the economic crisis makes it necessary now. But public cynicism about government requires that the next President builds accountability into his spending programs. That's why the Infrastructure Bank that Obama proposed during the campaign may be crucial: it would create a bipartisan board of five governors who would judge and approve all major projects.

In normal times, getting an Infrastructure Bank through Congress would be impossible. "It is a direct threat to their way of life," says Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. "It changes the dynamic of how you deal with earmarks," by taking the decision-making, and to some extent the credit, away from politicians. "I know one huge ally Obama would have on this," Ornstein adds with a laugh. "John McCain."

This could be an early test for President Obama (it would be an impossible task for President McCain, given the Democratic enmity should he win). Will Obama be able to convince his party's leaders that the economic situation is so dire, and the public's opinion of Congress so low, that big new public-works projects will need the validation of an independent board? Will he be willing to spend his political capital on this relatively obscure notion? When Bill Clinton arrived in Washington, he found that his toughest challenge was herding the donkeys in his own party. The nation's capital awaits the new President, wondering not just who gets what, but also how tough — and skilled — the new guy will really be."