The argument rejects a blanket equation between lower public spending and economic strength. Governments sometimes need to cut, but infrastructure budgets should be targeted at the services and systems the state has chosen to provide. The required size of government follows from those responsibilities, whether they include defence, policing, health care, or major transport networks. Infrastructure especially rewards planning over decades or centuries, which makes a short electoral cycle a poor guide to investment.
Notable Point · 1:34:14-1:36:01
Why infrastructure policy needs longer horizons
Public spending should be judged against the government's chosen responsibilities, while infrastructure requires planning far beyond a normal electoral cycle.