Defining a National Infrastructure Bank

The idea of creating a national infrastructure bank is gathering support amongst politicians and officials at the federal level. But what is it?

1 minute read

December 12, 2010, 9:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


Matt Dellinger explains how this sort of a bank could operate.

"So what is this magical Infrastructure Bank? Economists and politicians of many stripes have heralded the NIB as an answer to our infrastructure funding problems, as a way to attract private investment, and as a mechanism to better tackle major projects of national and regional significance. Boosters make the NIB sound like free money, a bottomless pot of cash. Perhaps they gloss over the details because the NIB is complicated, a new concept for American infrastructure, and there are competing ideas about how it should operate.

But basically, the National Infrastructure Bank would be a wholly-owned government entity run by appointees and would supplement–and to some degree replace–the appropriations system we have now. It would be different in two ways: First, the selection of projects would be more focused and methodical. And secondly, the financing would be more varied, more privatized, and potentially unique to each project."

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 in Transportation Nation

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