Residential Construction and Government Spending Lagging

This statistic shared courtesey of Brad DeLong (macroeconomist at Berkley).

Looking for Good News in Bitter Times

Here is the data for Total value of construction put in place, 2002-2010.   The latest figures available, for July 2011, show not much progress yet, with annually adjusted rate of $790 Billion; still below the low water mark set in 2010. 

It's not like there isn't work to do.  Construction could be leading the economy out of the doldrums if only Congress would get on board with tackling deferred maintenance and funding normal upgrades of our national infrastructure; if only Congress showed some leadership and vision in laying the foundation for the new infrastructure we'll need this century.   But instead of exhibiting some good old fashioned can do spirit, politicians are trying to outdo each other in how to further dismantle infrastructure spending.  It's enough to make a body depressed. 

In this sea of negativity, it's good to periodically take stock of the good things that are happening.   So here is a short list of accomplishments for the last decade. 

Can someone take a shot at expanding on the progress in construction?