Infrastructure: National Roles Without National Policy

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.”