The missing big plan: The economy could be restored and expanded with a National Water System that would control and distribute water to end disasters of drought and flood and make vast areas of under-used land into highly productive farms. A system of reservoirs and aquaducts would be built. The benefits of the California Aquaduct to the California Central Valley would be scaled to a much larger area of the country.
Extensive job opportunities would be created in the construction process, but far more would be enabled in operation of the vastly expanded agriculture industry. We think this would be a basis for a rational immigration policy where illegal immigrants would be converted to guest workers.
Agricultural produce would enable exports to restore international trade balance.