I think we’re dealing with a different kind of problem this time. In the past, we had competitive industries that stalled for lack of demand. These days, we are floundering around because foreign countries are eating our lunch.
We need a different kind of stimulus this time around. Yes, there are public works projects that need done, and there are some public works projects that will make us more competitive. For instance, if we build a maglev system running down the median of our interstate highways, using individual cars instead of mile-long trains, computer-controlled using GPS navigation, we could eliminate much air travel. Air travel is highly wasteful of energy, requires lots of error-free work by highly skilled pilots, and is a far-greater invitation to terrorists than a track-limited intercity transport system would be.
On the other hand, what we mostly need to do is to stimulate free enterprise startups.
Corporations need to be heavily regulated, because managers readily move from job to job, but the tort system makes that regulation unnecessary for sole proprietors, and we should free sole proprietors from those regulations.
Today’s machine tools are far more flexible than those of the 1900s; you no longer need 5000 employees operating single-function machines because setup costs are so oppressive. A shop of fewer than 10 people can be highly efficient and, because they’re more flexible, more efficient. We can encourage the formation of such manufacturing operations by building “manufacturing row houses” in industrial parks, units with 1000 feet of office/showroom space, and 10,000 feet of manufacturing/warehousing space, a loading dock, and access to utilities.
Rent out those row houses instead of selling them, and it becomes much simpler for someone to start a small manufacturing enterprise.
