• We can restore dignity to middle-class America by providing higher paying jobs.
• I propose a $500 Billion to $1Trillion accountable jobs program with benefits. By generating revenue, we can create a “National Infrastructure Program”, with investments in Information Technology, the Electric Grid, SMART cities, and high-speed rail.
• This program will be designed to build new highways, rebuild and/or replace bridges and tunnels, and renovate our beleaguered train systems and airports.
• Let me clarify my vision. A proposed infrastructure program should have “Feinberg-like” accountability for the projects created in order to document the numbers of people employed at all income levels. We want total accountability of the money received, the designated project, and the number of people employed to bring the project to completion. That’s where a newspaper, like The Sunshine Project or Pro Publica, would be desirable and informative, letting people know where and how their money has been spent.
• When I led Ford’s anti-corrosion program, every senior manager involved in the project was accountable to Ford’s operating committee for the implementation and use of 300 new products. We had a circulating newsletter detailing progress, beginning with a letter recommending the product and ending with a standard of manufacturing for every product used in production. The project was closely followed from conception to implementation by every manager involved in the process. No matter the size of the project, and whether we are discussing infrastructure or manufacturing, accountability for implementation and the cost of completion should always be tracked.
• The funding for these programs would come from various sources (to be discussed under Revenue Generation) and/or reallocation of subsidies.
