[Vision2020] Better Match Investment Timelines (was: Otter Has Plan)

[Ted Moffett]

Donovan et. al.

Idaho may maintain it's appeal and continue expanding population, with
continued housing construction and development, even with a recession in the
US economy.  While Bush and Bernanke are obviously trying to avoid "panic,"
some economists in less politicized positions are facing the economic
realities indicating a recession is likely:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/economists-say-2008-year-forget/story.aspx?guid=%7BF1BD8B30-B628-4AA3-853E-1FDD8D54A33E%7D


"The recession is likely to be a serious one," said Dean Baker, co-director
of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

He estimated losses in prime mortgages will be two to three times the
$160-$200 billion hit seen in the subprime sector. This, he said, will lead
to large losses at banks and difficulty for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

University of Chicago professor of finance and former chief economist at the
International Monetary Fund, Raghuram Rajan, said questions in the media
over whether the U.S. economy will fall into recession are really only about
semantics.

"We are going to have very low growth in the first two quarters of the year.
Whether it is negative or zero, it is going to feel like the same thing,"
Rajan said.
--------------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett


On 2/28/08, Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Ken,
>
> What parts of Idaho are growing now? I think the building development is
> pretty much at a stand still. All over the country building projects are
> stuck in suspended animation. I do think you are on to something though,
> taxing all the wealthy Californians coming into the state and putting
> greater demands on our structure that it can handle.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Donovan
>
> *Kenneth Marcy <kmmos1 at verizon.net>* wrote:
>
> On Thursday 28 February 2008 13:07, Craine Kit wrote:
> > I agree with the Governor that we need to raise money to fix the
> > roads. However, I think it should be done by charging for potential
> > damage. That would be a combination of charging licence fees based on
> > the weight of the vehicle, a surcharge on the purchase of studded
> > tires, and a small increase in the gas tax.
>
>
> Yes, the State of Idaho needs more capital investment funds for
> transportation infrastructure expansion, improvement, and repair. Missing
> so far in the discussion of characteristics of funding sources acceptable
> for such purposes is a better matching of the payments for the funding of
> the capital and the timeline for the usage of the infrastructure built
> with
> that capital. Thus far suggestions have been of a pay-as-you-incur-expense
>
> nature for raising capital to build long-term infrastructure assets.
>
> A more satisfactory matching of the timelines would come from capital
> raised
> from expenditures for longer-term investments and then transferred as
> capital for infrastructure investments. In other words, tax items at their
>
> purchase that likely will be used for a longer time, perhaps the same
> longer time that the infrastructure will be used. This helps to reduce the
>
> short-term regressive characteristics of using expense taxation to pay for
>
> capital construction.
>
> What to tax? Well, how about building materials that will become parts of
> homes and business structures that will presumably stand for extended
> periods of time near the newer and repaired roads that service the land on
>
> which those buildings sit?
>
> This policy will have the salutary effect of asking some of Idaho's newer
> residents, who presumably want to become long-term residents, to help pay
> for roads and bridges and goat trail widening to which existing
> longer-term
> residents have already enjoyed the pleasure of contributing. It will also
> focus tax receipts from those areas of the state that are growing more
> rapidly, and thus are more likely to need such infrastructure investments.
>
>
> Ken
>
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