This article discusses an idea that I’ve been pushing for weeks. Hundreds of billions are going to be spent wastefully (judging by prior government initiatives). My idea is to take billions of it and just knock down buildings that have been completely abandoned and are contributing to blight in key areas of cities across the country. The thought is that the phoenix will rise from the ashes. When blocks of abandoned homes/stores/buildings just sit for years on end, a malaise overtakes the area and evolves into additional problems. This, as with everything else, is open to manipulation. But if you can present incentives for investors/homeowners to rebuild in these areas, it will create a spark that positively feeds on itself and fosters growth. Developers are scared off by the expense of cleaning up blocks of houses and buildings, but if the government bites the bullet for the good of the cause, the future growth would compensate for the current outlay. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/business/22flint.html?em
It sounds silly to destroy something just to post growth at a later point… I guess they got the idea from all the hedge funds that will never retake their high water marks.