Schwarzenegger outlines ambitious infrastructure strategy

Schwarzenegger outlines ambitious infrastructure strategy    California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday told business leaders that his planned $222 billion 'Strategic Growth Plan' was needed, among other things, to ward off economic losses to other states and countries.
   Schwarzenegger singled out the portion of the massive plan that would go toward transportation ($107 billion) and expanding trade corridors ($18.9 billion), and said the state's ports ($2 billion) were crucial to keeping jobs in the state in decades to come. His ambitious goal is to reduce congestion in the state's transportation system by 20 percent in the next decade.
   “We will invest in our ports and make them more efficient. Right now trade is a major job creator in California,” he said to a crowd at the University of Southern California. “But if we don’t improve our ports, those jobs will disappear as we lose business to other states and nations. Our investment will mean more trains loading and unloading goods right at the ports, and trucks on separate toll lanes in the port areas, which will help our businesses get their goods to and from our ports more quickly and handle more trade.”
   He also said the infrastructure investment, which also includes sizable funds for schools, jails and other civic projects, will provide a good return on investment for California's trade-dependent economy.
   'Every dollar spent on construction in this state generates an additional $1.40 in economic activity,' he said. 'For every $1 billion in transportation investment, California generates $750 million in labor income and takes in an additional $64 million in tax revenues. For every $1 billion invested in road building, we add nearly 19,000 jobs for working families.”
   Nearly one-third of the $222 billion plan would be paid for by a $68 billion in bonds over the next decade. Schwarzenegger is hoping the state will pass the bonds in one vote this year.