American infrastructure is crumbling so badly, that the American Society of Civil Engineers rates it at D+, much lower than that of Western Europe. Throughout his campaign the Pumpkin Pinocchio promised to create thousands of new infrastructure jobs. However, his actual plan is to take $millions from the poor and middle classes, convert it to welfare for billionaires investing in for profit infrastructure p0rojects only, creating few, if any new jobs. By contrast, Democrats are offering a REAL infrastructure proposal.
“America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay,” President Trump declared in his inauguration speech last week. “We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation.”
Trump had made repeated mentions of the state of the country’s infrastructure on the campaign trail and pledged to create a $1 trillion package to address it.
When his team released details of his plan, however, it didn’t live up to the promise. Instead, his advisers promised to offer tax credits to private firms that are interested in infrastructure projects with profit potential — in other words, the ability to charge Americans user fees and tolls — that would almost certainly do nothing to address the most dire upgrades.
To call Trump on this discrepancy, Senate Democrats will offer up their own $1 trillion plan.
Democratic Senators Charles Schumer (NY), Bill Nelson (FL), Patrick J. Leahy (VT), Ron Wyden (OR), Sherrod Brown (OH), Maria Cantwell (WA.), and Thomas R. Carper (DE) plus Independent Bernie Sanders (VT) will unveil a package on Tuesday that would have the federal government directly spend $1 trillion to upgrade infrastructure itself, rather than hand out tax credits to private companies.
The proposal will address a number of infrastructure needs, not just those that can be privatized with user fees attached. On top of $210 billion to upgrade roads and bridges, it will call for $110 billion to repair water and sewer systems, $180 billion for railways and bus systems, $100 billion for energy infrastructure, $75 billion to fix schools, $20 billion to install more broadband capacity, $20 billion to go to public and tribal land maintenance, and $10 billion to upgrade Veterans Affairs hospitals…
From <Think Progress>
Now, I wouldn't want folks to get their hopes up in vain. The chances that the TomCat will abandon felinity and become a dawg are greater than the chances that bill will see a vote at present. Nevertheless, Democrats need to keep showing Americans what viable government looks like and keep rubbing Republicans' deplorable noses in it.
RESIST!!
11 Responses to “A REAL Infrastructure Proposal”
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I just don't know how it could have been said better. (And it may or may not be relevant, but I was kind of tickled to see a cross section of progressives in that group – from Schumer to Sanders and points in between.)
Even DINOs like Nelson and Carper shine in comparison to Republucans.
The more we learn the more I alternate between despair and fury. Fury is winning right now.
Kudos to those Dems who want to see action, and assist with the infrastructure proposal.
Thanks, Tom.
Paul Krugman has some inciteful and incisive comments WRT Twitler's infrastructure SCAM:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/infrastructure-build-or-privatization-scam/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/infrastructure-build-or-privatization-scam/
http://thedailybanter.com/2016/11/krugman-rips-apart-trumps-infrastructure/
It's gonna be a cold day in Hades before Drumpfenfarten makes infrastructure repairs without having his hands all up in it, taking the money out before it can be appropriated for ANYTHING!!!
It seems a good plan and a viable plan, so we can rest assured that it'll never make it to a vote.
So the next step this team of democrats needs to take, is to get as much publicity for their plan as possible. Spend party money on it, turn it into a campaign, organize rallies, town-hall meetings, get people informed and thinking about it. No, it won't make it to a vote then either, but at least people will know they're shafted by the Drumpf/GOP plans and react.
TRUMP is in it for TRUMP and his cronies which he proved to the world in the first 2 days in office. WAKE UP AMERICA, TRUMP and his cabinet are the foxes stealing from the American HEN HOUSE and we are screwed.
Welcome Elaina!
Amen!
Exactly!!
Thanks all! Hugs!!