$700 billion bailout will leave no money for public infrastructure spending

In an interview with CNBC, Warren Buffett said that he is betting on the Congress doing the right thing for the American public by offering a $700 billion bailout to Wall Street. Keep in mind, this bailout is in addition to the $85 billion to buy AIG, $29 billion in support of Bear Stearns and $25 billion to buy the bad debt of Fannie and Freddie Mac. (Source: NY Times)

Let us understand the gravity of the above numbers by comparing it to some public infrastructure costs -

Cost to repair or modernize country's bridges - $140 billion

Federal aid towards Hurricane Katrina - $113.8 billion

Cost of 800 mile High Speed Bullet Train in CA - $40 billion

Water resource bill that President Bush vetoed - $23 billion

Cost of reconstructing World Trade Center - $14 billion

State departments of transportation have expressed concerns over diminishing federal aid towards transportation projects. Many states are considering higher tolls and innovative plans such as asset monetization and congestion pricing. With this $700 billion bailout, the federal aid towards transportation infrastructure will further deteriorate. Increasing highway tolls, gas tax and leasing state assets will only become inevitable.