Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump had little to say about infrastructure. It wasn’t until the end of the campaign―prodded by his opponent’s $250 billion plan―that Trump offered a no-details boast that he would spend …. $1 trillion on infrastructure.
A serious plan to invest in the nation’s infrastructure would be welcome indeed. Infrastructure investments would create jobs, boost the nation’s productivity growth, and provide vital public services to a wide range of Americans.
But the Trump campaign plan wasn’t just empty, but outright corrupt; offering tax credits to private developers that would have applied to past investments or investments that have already been planned or undertaken. And a recently-leaked plan is little better.
Today―in his first State of the Union address―we can expect President Trump to dedicate a significant portion of the speech to infrastructure, with a plan rumored to be on the horizon. But will it be a real plan, or empty promises?
Sign the petition to Congress demanding a public investment in infrastructure that is accountable to American taxpayers―not one that pads the pockets of private investors.
In his State of the Union address, Donald Trump will likely try and sell his infrastructure plan as a nearly-free investment in our communities, claiming that private developers instead of taxpayers will provide the funding. But we should be extremely wary of claims about free lunches―in the end, it is American households who will pay for this.
By their nature, investments in transportation, water systems, and other vital components of infrastructure will be under-provided by private-sector investors. Take, for example, toll roads that are primarily used by more-affluent communities―padding the pockets of developers―compared to water systems in rural and underserved communities.
The recently leaked Trump plan would kick the responsibility for funding infrastructure to states, or allow private developers to obtain federal loan guarantees in exchange for the privilege of collecting tolls from American taxpayers.
That’s not an investment in the public good. It’s an open invitation for crony capitalism, corruption and rampant inequality of public investments across communities.
Sign the petition telling Congress to reject any infrastructure plan that doesn’t spread benefits widely and which relies overwhelmingly on subsidizing private developers with insufficient oversight to stop profiteering and cronyism.
Infrastructure investment should prioritize services to the public that are available to all of us as basic rights.
Instead of Trump’s empty calls for somebody else to find the money, we need a real investment in our country’s future because, in reality, no bridge is actually free.
- Josh Bivens, Director of Research, Economic Policy Institute
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