In 1992 Professor Dick Netzer posed the question “Do We Really Need a National Infrastructure Policy?” but a national infrastructure policy really is a fanciful notion. America has never had a national infrastructure policy, there is no consensus as to what constitutes “infrastructure,” and little to agreement on public policy at the national level. Although we may agree that public expenditures to build and maintain infrastructure should be effective, efficient, and equitable, however hard we try and however sincere our efforts, we never agree on the meanings of terms like infrastructure, policy, effectiveness, efficiency, or equity. The futility of striving toward “a” national or unified infrastructure policy does not, of course, prevent America from pursuing innumerable national infrastructure policies. This essay posits that America can take many practical and important steps to manage and improve its infrastructure regardless of whether it has a document called a “national infrastructure policy.”

1992 年，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？” 但国家基础设施政策确实是一个幻想。美国从未制定过国家基础设施政策，对“基础设施”的构成没有达成共识，国家层面的公共政策也几乎没有共识。尽管我们可能同意建设和维护基础设施的公共支出应该是有效，高效和公平的，但是我们无论努力还是真诚地努力，我们都从未同意基础设施，政策，有效性，效率或公平性等术语的含义。 . 当然，努力实现“一项”全国性或统一的基础设施政策的徒劳并不能阻止美国推行无数的国家基础设施政策。