For weeks, the United States Conference of Mayors has been touting its Main Street Economic Recovery Plan, which would, if enacted, involve putting federal funds into local projects. To that end, mayors from all across the country provided the Conference with a wish list of project they'd like the feds to fund -- because as far as the mayors' group is concerned, it's far more sensible to invest in tangible projects that provide actual jobs than it is to throw the banks bailout billions that aren't even properly accounted for.
Hence, the release this morning of the 803-page "Ready to Go" Jobs and Infrastructure Projects wish list, described within the document as a list of "projects that can be started quickly after funding is received and generate the significant numbers of jobs that are needed to strengthen the economies of our metro areas and our nation as a whole." And Dallas, well, we want plenty: According to the doc, Mayor Tom Leppert and the city have suggested that the feds fund some 67 projects -- which the city says will create 12,075 jobs at a cost of $1,240,823,842. Combined, all 427 cities listed in the doc are requesting $73,163,299,303.
Among the projects listed: the convention center hotel (it'll cost $386,000,000, says the city, but create 3,800 jobs) and the Margaret McDermott Bridge
Reconstrucion ($246,540,000 for 2,465 jobs). But there are all kinds of
projects on the list, several of them street-repair related; also,
you'll find things like "Upgrade the City of Dallas public safety radio
system to the 800 Mhz digital spectrum, providing City of Dallas first
responder with full regional interoperability," which'll cost $40
million for ... 30 jobs. Santy Claus, what say you? --Robert Wilonsky
