Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Economics

Buffett’s Bet on Burlington: What Does it Mean for Transport and Energy?

By Elana Schor | Nov 3, 2009 | No Comments

The financial world was riveted this morning by billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s move to take full ownership of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad, a $34 billion deal that ranks as the largest ever executed by Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett (Photo: Redfin) But what does Buffett’s purchase mean for the nation’s energy […]

Obama Calls For ‘More Creative’ Ways to Pay For Infrastructure

By Elana Schor | Nov 2, 2009 | 1 Comment

At a meeting today with his outside economic recovery advisers, President Obama emphasized the importance of shoring up the nation’s crumbling infrastructure but warned that the mounting federal deficit would require "more creative, new approaches to financing" investment in transit, bridges, and road repairs. President Obama (Photo: AP) "I think my team will testify when […]

How Bus Transit Can Help the Auto Industry

By Elana Schor | Oct 26, 2009 | 3 Comments

A map of the companies involved in the supply chain for U.S. transit buses. (Image: EDF) When Vice President Joe Biden visited Minnesota’s New Flyer bus company to tout the economic stimulus law’s $8.4 billion investment in transit, hopes were high for a boom in cleaner-burning vehicle production — which made for some bad press […]

High-Speed Rail: Still a Good Idea

By Ryan Avent | Oct 22, 2009 | 4 Comments

You may remember, back in August, economist Ed Glaeser’s series on high-speed rail at the New York Times’ Economix blog. Glaeser put together a back-of-the-envelope cost-benefit analysis of a hypothetical Houston-Dallas line, which purported to show that rail was a poor investment. You may also remember me responding in detail, and generally pointing out how […]

What the Virginia Campaign Can Teach Us About Transportation Policy

By Ryan Avent | Oct 19, 2009 | 2 Comments

However the Virginia off-year gubernatorial race ends up — and at the moment it looks as though Republican Bob McDonnell will reclaim the governor’s mansion for the GOP after years of Democratic dominance — the media will frame the story as a referendum on the policies of national Democrats. Virginian rivals Creigh Deeds (D, at […]

Congestion Pricing: Still Good For Basically Everyone

By Ryan Avent | Oct 13, 2009 | 3 Comments

Urbanists often find themselves falling into a pattern of thinking that boils down to the dictum that what’s good for drivers must be bad for walkability, and sustainability, and all the things that they prize about well-designed cities. Drivers seem to believe this too, which is interesting because it often isn’t true. What’s good for […]

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