Panel
Resilient Infrastructure: Adapting to Turbulent Times
Milken InstituteMargot Brandenburg, Debbie Dingell, Katherine Perez, Jonathan Tower, Phillip Washington, Nan Whaley
- U.S. transit agencies face existential instability due to declining sales tax receipts, prompting expectations for a second specific stimulus package and a shift toward publicly funded fareless transit to support low-income families and prevent homelessness.
- Legislative progress faces a current stalemate, with the $20 billion, six-year "Moving Forward Act" expected to fail this year, though a future infrastructure package is anticipated to include formulaic funding accessible to mid-size and smaller legacy cities in the Midwest and Northeast.
- Significant investment risks persist in broadband deployment, as market forces fail to drive private capital into low-income communities, creating a correlation between lack of broadband and Opportunity Zones; without federal de-risking or direct lending models, poor communities will fall further behind.
- A transition away from the internal combustion engine is expected to render the gas tax obsolete, driving a need for new utility funding models that utilize depreciation tax benefits for wastewater treatment and a shift toward investment funds for public schools and fire departments.
- Decarbonization goals include a 100% electric vehicle mandate in California by 2035 and a national aspiration for a 100% carbon freeze society by 2050, which could generate 5.4 million clean energy jobs if fully funded.
- Future strategies involve "surgical interventions" to build neighborhoods block by block, addressing inequities through new community engagement models and expanding ESG Impact Opportunity Zone capital into $250 million funds for sectors like wastewater and public schools.
- Economic recovery is expected to be uneven without a "blue-green alliance" and equitable policies, with rural areas facing significant competitive disadvantages for jobs if broadband infrastructure is not urgently addressed.
- The outlook anticipates broadband will eventually be understood as a public utility comparable to electricity, necessitating national changes to ensure equitable access and prevent communities from being left behind during the 2020 crisis.