Heathrow expansion may be good economics, bad politics

Well economic growth in the U.S. may be weak — but the U.K.’s economy is expected to shrink this year. So there are calls for the government to spend more money on infrastructure projects — including adding another runway at London’s Heathrow Airport. It’s been pretty controversial, though. Marketplace’s Stephen Beard is with us from London with the details. “Supporters say it could generate a great deal of extra international business for Britain, generating perhaps $12 billion a year and creating 140,000 extra jobs,” Beard says. Prime Minister David Cameron opposed the project before the last election and still does today. “This is a u-turn that would go down very badly with the tens of thousands of voters who live under the Heathrow flight path.” Hear more details in our audio above.