Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009 - (Page 11)

porate sector to help avert a short-term debt refinancing crisis for solid but now illiquid corporations and small businesses. In 2009, financial regulations must be reformed to fuel sustainable economic growth and make credit available to worthy recipients. Regulations must focus on sustainable underwriting standards and fair banking practices, including such things as standardizing credit rates and fees. that SLDI has been espousing for the last year. There needs to be a massive stimulus – at least twice the previous initiatives – that provides incentives for investment in the two most promising sources of sustainable growth – America’s enormous infrastructure needs and the exploding global demand (created by the combination of the economic, environmental, and behavioral demands of our civilization) for innovative sustainable technologies. According to Paul Volker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, it would serve the nation’s economy well for the U.S. to step up its investment in infrastructure. By emphasizing “financial engineering” over civil engineering for too long, the U.S. wound up with “lousy infrastructure and a lousy financial system.” To dig out of the economic More Will be Needed The most important questions at this point are; how deep will this recession go and how long will it last? Historically, housing cycles take up to four years to go from peak to trough. This implies an upward headwind beginning in 2010, which would make Skip Preble’s Last Word article from April 2008, entitled, “Hang in ‘til 2010” rather prophetic. Of course, the answers to those questions ultimately depend on what we do from here. All financial crises are resolved with some government intervention, which has a significant cost, but a disorderly market would end up being even more costly, as thousands of people and otherwise solid companies and banks would go bankrupt, making the costs much larger and more painful. The issues that come into play are how to make it less costly while more effective and ethical. The Obama administration must have a second dose of medicine that is stronger, more enduring, and different from the initial stimulus programs of consumer tax rebates, business tax cuts and bank investments. This is clearly not a normal recession. It is a post-bubble slowdown spurred by the de-leveraging of America’s household and financial sectors. A new path is needed to ignite a short-term recovery, and then to sustain long-term growth, but what actions will be most likely to have the most significant and lasting impacts? Prepare your community for tomorrow with Connexion Technologies… You can provide for the ever-changing technological needs of residents without touching your budget. By partnering with Connexion Technologies to install a cutting-edge Fiber to the Home network in your community, your residents can enjoy the best entertainment and communications services handle almost any new service that comes to market. Find out more at www.connexiontechnologies.net or contact us at 919.535.7329. Sustainable Development is the Answer To get us out of this mess, there is now widespread support for some initiatives Circle 145 • or www.SLDTonline.com/webcard www.SLDTonline.com 11 http://www.connexiontechnologies.net http://www.connexiontechnologies.net http://www.SLDTonline.com/webcard http://www.SLDTonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009

Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009 Contents Our Voice Your Voice The BottomLine SLDI in Focus Calendar Industry Rebound Will Require Balanced Approach What Happened to Fannie and Freddie? Added Value in Entitlements Industry Spotlights Technology Wastewater Innovation Classifieds Advertiser Index Editorial Board SLDT Resources Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - January 2009

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