US investment heroes: AT&T and Verizon lead the way

The Progressive Policy Institute, that left-of-center think tank that became what PPI itself calls an “idea mill” for Bill Clinton’s New Democrats, has come out with its annual list of “US Investment Heroes,” the 25 companies that have bet the most on America’s future by making the largest capital investments in the United States.

The leaders are two telecommunications companies: AT&T, with $19.5 billion in capital expenditures, and Verizon, with $15 billion in 2012. AT&T and Verizon also ranked one and two on last year’s list. In fact, there are six telecom/cable firms among the top 25, and together they invested $51 billion, which is just shy of the $56 billion invested by energy companies in one of the greatest boom years for investment by that sector. Others among the six were Comcast, $5.6 billion (in 10th place); Sprint Nextel, $4.3 billion (13th); and Time Warner Cable, $3.1 billion (17th), and Direct TV, $1.7 billion.