Star Tribune (Minneapolis) — Americans desperately need jobs. The nation’s sagging infrastructure badly needs repair and renewal. Why not put people to work fixing and building roads, bridges and transit systems? It all seemed a no-brainer.

But now comes the problem of money — or lack of it. A deficit projected at $1.35 trillion has made substantial borrowing for infrastructure renewal a fading dream. Many state governments lack the wherewithal to provide local matches for an aggressive federal initiative. And raising the user fee (federal gas tax) required to finance such a vast enterprise seems politically improbable as long as unemployment hovers in double digits.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood delivered that somber message in a visit to the Twin Cities this week. He made clear President Obama’s opposition to the nickel (or more) increase in the federal fuel tax needed to launch a significant transportation overhaul. “The president is just not going to be for that as long as people are hurting,” LaHood said.

Standing beside him, U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, chairman of the House transportation committee, acknowledged that his ambitious attempt to modernize the transport system is dead in the water. His bill has the support of 160 Democrats and 30 Republicans, but that’s still 28 votes short of passage and, with no help from the president on the fuel tax, the Minnesota Democrat’s hopes for a massive overhaul have dimmed considerably. [read more…]