Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 58

Invest in Infrastructure and Emerging Industries
Public investments in infrastructure hold the key to rapid job creation. Economists agree that
investments in infrastructure are one of the most effective fiscal tactics to stimulate a sluggish
economy and reduce unemployment.42 Every dollar spent on infrastructure generates $1.44 of
economic activity. This makes it one of the largest multipliers per investment dollar, topped only
by a temporary increase in food stamps/SNAP and an extension of unemployment insurance.43
Infrastructure is a broad term. The kind of infrastructure investment with the potential to
create millions of jobs is public
works—for example, building roads,
Figure 1.6 Unemployment in the Construction Industry is Falling
repairing bridges and dams, and
But Continues to Exceed the Overall Unemployment Rate

renovating schools and office buildings. According to the Federal
30%
Construction Industry
Highway Administration, a $1 bilUnemployment Rate
25
lion expenditure on highway construction can support 30,000 jobs.44
20
The construction sector stands to
benefit more than other sectors from
15
investments in infrastructure. Construction suffered the highest rate
10
of job loss when the housing bubble
Civilian Unemployment Rate
burst45 and continues to face one of
5
the toughest job markets. By mid0
2013, unemployment rates were still
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
nearly 10 percent.46 See Figure 1.6.
Shaded areas indicate U.S. recessions
In 2009, the American Society
of Civil Engineers estimated that
Source: Federal Reserve Economic Data (2013).
the United States would need
$2.2 trillion in infrastructure
investment to repair damage caused by longstanding neglect.47 The consequences of
decades of putting off upgrades to the country’s physical infrastructure became glaringly obvious during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Super Storm Sandy in 2012. And
they were just the biggest consequences: from 2011 to 2012, 25 extreme weather events—
floods, storms, and wildfires—cost more than $1 billion each, adding up to an estimated
total of $188 billion in damage.48
The Recovery Act included $93 billion of new investments in infrastructure, but this
barely begins to meet the needs.49 The United States is ranked 25th in the world in infrastructure quality. In inflation-adjusted terms, the country now spends less on transportation infrastructure than it did in 1968.50 Investments in infrastructure not only produce
more efficient transportation services, but also cleaner air and water, healthier food,
cheaper electricity, and faster Internet service. Over the long term, improvements in the
country’s infrastructure will make the United States more competitive. Private sector
productivity gains have been estimated at anywhere from 15 percent to 45 percent.51
Although the Recovery Act provided a much needed boost in funding for infrastructure, the
country needs a different mechanism to finance infrastructure projects, one that goes beyond a

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