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[quote user="MP173"]Dave: I think that is a reasonable quid pro quo 25% investment tax credit for "addressing concerns." However, the discussion of who the beneficiaries are (domestic vs foreign) is opening up a very large can of worms.  We are already sending strong signals regarding investment in our country...the Chinese were not allowed to invest in oil ( I think Unical) and the ports on the east coast were addressed recently. The US has always invested heavily in outside countries.  This attempt by corporations to have it both ways (the ability to invest overseas while restricting investment or marketing of products here) sends very mixed signals and is extremely short sighted. The reason the containers are streaming in from Asia is not the low rail prices, it is the inability of the United States corporations to produce at market prices.  As long as labor rates overseas are what they are (India will probably be the next China) we will have this problem. ed [/quote] All good points, but one thing remains paramount - if it is the US taxpayers who are (indirectly) paying for the infrastructure investments, then said investments should favor domestic over foriegn interests, right? Relative labor rates overseas are not the number one reason for the inability of US firms to compete in the US consumer market.  Number one is the currency manipulation by the Chinese to keep the Chinese currency artificially low vs the US dollar.  Number two is the environmental/regulatory/litigatory red tape that prevents US corporations from making the capital investments necessary to adjust to global changes in semi-real time.  (It took the Chinese about 6 months from the development of the idea to actual begining of construction of the new Chinese rail lines.  The DM&E saga has run over a decade now and they have yet to turn a spade of dirt for the new railroad grade.)  Number three is the imbalance of import transportation rates vs export transportation rates (of which US railroads play a major role).  Number four is the relative labor rate differential.
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