In an essay almost 30 years ago, Professor Dick Netzer of NYU asked the question “Do We Really Need a National Infrastructure Policy?” and came to the conclusion that we did not. As the Biden Administration prepares to roll out a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure package, the nation is faced with numerous questions regarding the infrastructure systems necessary to support continued economic growth and environmental sustainability. The purpose of this essay is to look to recent history for guidance for how to proceed by revisiting the underlying premises of the Netzer essay and reconsider whether a National Infrastructure Policy is needed. Because linking infrastructure to broader public policy objectives could both unite the nation and position it to address the many challenges that the 21st century will present, I believe the idea of a National Infrastructure Policy definitely deserves a second look.

在将近30年前的一篇文章中，纽约大学的迪克·内策（Dick Netzer）教授提出了一个问题：“我们真的需要国家基础设施政策吗？” 得出的结论是我们没有。当拜登政府准备推出数万亿美元的基础设施计划时，该国面临着众多问题，这些问题涉及支持持续的经济增长和环境可持续性所必需的基础设施系统。本文的目的是通过重新审视Netzer文章的基本前提并重新考虑是否需要国家基础设施政策，来寻求最近的历史指导。由于将基础架构与更广泛的公共政策目标联系起来，既可以使整个国家团结起来，又可以使其应对21世纪将面临的众多挑战，