Spending or Investing?  
 
In the face of current budget constraints, Pennsylvania's state government clearly needs to reduce spending.  Whether it should stop making investments is another matter. 
 
On ABC's Sunday morning talk show "This Week" on February 21, Governor Rendell argued that governments can't stop investing just because budgets are tight.  Reacting to a congressman's statement to the effect that there should be no more spending and no more borrowing, the governor exclaimed,
 
"How in God's name does he think we're going to repair this nation's infrastructure, stay competitive, give safety to our people, improve our quality of lives?
 
Every business that's successful in this country has, at some key moment, reinvested in itself, usually by borrowing or taking out capital reserves.
 
They reinvested. They created another product line, built a new factory. If you don't invest in your future, you will die."
 
Rendell appeared alongside Governor Schwarzenegger of California, and together they made a bipartisan plea for renewed infrastructure investments by the federal government.
 
Pennsylvania will soon be confronting difficult questions about transportation infrastructure investment - especially if, as many expect, the long-awaited decision by the Federal Highway Administration on the proposal to toll Interstate 80 turns out to be negative.  More...

Join the Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance and ULI Philadelphia for the 6th Annual Smart Growth Symposium, "The 5 D's (Density, Design, Diversity, Destination Accessibility, and Distance-to-Transit) -- Why Smart Growth is Financially Sustainable," on Friday, March 12, from 8-11am, at PECO, 2301 Market Street, Philadelphia. Hear about the benefits, the challenges and the reluctance to change. For more information, please click here.

A one-day workshop designed for local planning partners, practitioners,
developers, and decision-makers on creating livable communities. For more information please click here.

 

 

As part of out ongoing effort to bring you the most relevant smart growth news from around Pennsylvania and beyond, 10,000 Friends now offers the "News" section of our web site available as an RSS feed. By adding this feed to a service such as Google Reader, you can receive current news highlights from 10,000 Friends as we add them to our website.  We believe this tool will help you to stay informed of the many important issues facing Pennsylvania's communities every day.


10,000 Friends has also joined the growing network of Twitter where we are connecting with Pennsylvania's political leaders, partner nonprofit organizations, and activists interested in our issues. If you are also a Twitter user, you can follow us @10000friends for the latest land use and infrastructure news from Pennsylvania and beyond.

Are you on Facebook? Now, 10,000 Friends is too! Become a fan of our page for the opportunity to interact with 10,000 Friends staff and to network with other Pennsylvanians who are interested in smart growth issues.

Finally, be sure to check in on the Transportation For Pennsylvania coalition blog to get all the latest transportation news from across Pennsylvania.

10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania works as an alliance of organizations and individuals committed to promoting land use policies and actions that will enable Pennsylvania to strengthen its diverse urban, suburban and rural communities. Through a diverse coalition focused on a positive agenda, we seek proactive solutions and options for local, regional and state leaders.