After adding over $1.5 trillion to the national debt with his make-the-rich-richer tax boondoggle, and increasing Defense spending by $165 billion over two years, con man and demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump will roll out his infrastructure "plan" today. It promises to be a real stinker if you're serious about infrastructure.
Of the plan's proposed $1.5 trillion cost, the Federal Government will provide just $200 billion over 10 years, a fraction of the money needed to repair and replace aging infrastructure, and will look to State and local governments to come up with the remaining $1.3 trillion. It's Trumpian in the sense that it's not serious, it won't work, and it sticks someone else with the bill:
"Half the money would go to grants for transportation, water, flood control, cleanup at some of the country’s most polluted sites and other projects. States, local governments and other project sponsors could use the grants — which administration officials view as incentives — for no more than 20 percent of the cost. Transit agencies generally count on the federal government for half the cost of major construction projects, and federal dollars can make up as much as 80 percent of some highway projects." (emphasis added)State and local resources are already strained without having to pay 50% to 80% of major infrastructure projects over the next decade. What's more, Rump's plan would suspend important environmental impact and other reviews to incentivize big manufacturing and construction companies.
We'll see how long this "plan" survives serious scrutiny, including the question of who really thinks State and local governments are in a position to pay for the vast majority of it.
