Let's Spend on Broadband and the Power Grid

[Commentary] Addressing the economic crisis, rather than just stimulate, we should transform. Smarter infrastructure is by far our best path to creating new jobs and stimulating growth. We at IBM were asked to map this out by President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, and our research shows that a $30 billion stimulus investment in just three areas -- smart grids, health-care IT and broadband -- could yield almost one million new jobs within one year. That's possible because these kinds of infrastructure have significantly greater economic and societal multiplier effects than traditional infrastructure like bridges and highways. Forward-thinking nations, companies and communities will leverage this opportunity to completely rethink key infrastructure services. Will we? Will the U.S. make investments in our future whose impact is not just additive, but exponential? Let's not fix a flawed past. Let's build a smarter future for our country.

(Palmisano is the chairman and CEO of IBM)