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[US Infrastructure]: A Bridge to Tomorrow
Athenor
Battle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
Battle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure
Infrastructure is one of the most important things that a government provides. It allows trade, commerce, travel, communication, and helps keep society functioning. When people think taxes, infrastructure should be one of the first things they think of.
The United States' infrastructure is OLD. Most of it was built as part of the New Deal, as a way to get Americans back to work after the Great Depression. Later came the US Interstate system, probably the most visible infrastructure project we have undertaken. Other mammoth structures, like the power grid, telephone and internet backbones, and our waterways, have also stagnated for quite a while.
Yet these mammoth organs of our country have not been getting the TLC they need. Going back years, infrastructure has been one of the first places hit when it comes time to slash budgets, at all levels of government. It is such a big problem that John Oliver did an excellent segment on it in March 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpzvaqypav8
(Yes, that video is turning 3 years old next month.)
Today, February 12th, the Trump administration is set to announce a 1.5 TRILLION dollar infrastructure plan. This is one of the backbone policies that the Trump administration ran on, and it should be a no brainer. If done correctly, it will help spur the economy, help push us closer to full employment, and properly modernize our infrastructure to meet the demands of the next century and beyond.
If done poorly, it will be a massive waste of money that may get people killed.
https://www.npr.org/2018/02/11/584940681/trump-to-unveil-long-awaited-1-5-trillion-infrastructure-plan
We are expecting the actual details today.
Infrastructure is the epitome of "A stitch in time saves nine," and yet we've been ignoring it for so long that we may be past of small fixes. Is this something we trust to the corporations? Will the American people suck it up and support infrastructure taxes or reform? And what about climate change, and what it is doing to our infrastructure?
Infrastructure is the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or other area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function. It typically characterizes technical structures such as roads, bridges, tunnels, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, telecommunications (including Internet connectivity and broadband speeds), and so forth, and can be defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions."
Infrastructure is one of the most important things that a government provides. It allows trade, commerce, travel, communication, and helps keep society functioning. When people think taxes, infrastructure should be one of the first things they think of.
The United States' infrastructure is OLD. Most of it was built as part of the New Deal, as a way to get Americans back to work after the Great Depression. Later came the US Interstate system, probably the most visible infrastructure project we have undertaken. Other mammoth structures, like the power grid, telephone and internet backbones, and our waterways, have also stagnated for quite a while.
Yet these mammoth organs of our country have not been getting the TLC they need. Going back years, infrastructure has been one of the first places hit when it comes time to slash budgets, at all levels of government. It is such a big problem that John Oliver did an excellent segment on it in March 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpzvaqypav8(Yes, that video is turning 3 years old next month.)
Today, February 12th, the Trump administration is set to announce a 1.5 TRILLION dollar infrastructure plan. This is one of the backbone policies that the Trump administration ran on, and it should be a no brainer. If done correctly, it will help spur the economy, help push us closer to full employment, and properly modernize our infrastructure to meet the demands of the next century and beyond.
If done poorly, it will be a massive waste of money that may get people killed.
https://www.npr.org/2018/02/11/584940681/trump-to-unveil-long-awaited-1-5-trillion-infrastructure-plan
President Trump will finally be unveiling his long-awaited $1.5 trillion plan to repair and rebuild the nation's crumbling highways, bridges, railroads, airports, seaports and water systems Monday. But, the proposal will not be one that offers large sums of federal funding to states for infrastructure needs, but it is instead a financing plan that shifts much of the funding burden onto the states and onto local governments.
Critics say that will lead to higher state and local taxes, and an increased reliance on user fees, such as tolls, water and sewer fees, transit fares and airline ticket taxes.
Senior White House officials who briefed reporters over the weekend say the plan is aimed at fixing the current system of funding infrastructure that they say is broken in two ways.
The first is that the country has been under-investing in infrastructure, leading a state of growing disrepair. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives the nation a grade of D+ for the condition of transit, highway, bridge, rail, water and other infrastructure, and says the country is in need of an investment of $2 trillion more than is currently budgeted.
The second way the White House says the system is broken is in the lengthy federal permitting process, which officials say can take five to 10 years or longer, driving up costs.
We are expecting the actual details today.
Infrastructure is the epitome of "A stitch in time saves nine," and yet we've been ignoring it for so long that we may be past of small fixes. Is this something we trust to the corporations? Will the American people suck it up and support infrastructure taxes or reform? And what about climate change, and what it is doing to our infrastructure?
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That's not even getting into any car-centric bias in the spending priorities.
1) Lots of public-private partnerships for stuff, which is a mixed bag at best
2) This isn't any new actual funding. It's moving around stuff that's already in the budget, including cuts to Amtrak.
Ray LaHood is a Representative from the Peoria, IL area who is someone I would consider an ideal Republican, up there with Mueller. Interestingly, he served as Obama's Secretary of Transportation - so Infrastructure is close to his heart.
This morning, he was on NPR's Morning Edition, talking to Steve Inskeep.
https://www.npr.org/2018/02/12/585032360/u-s-needs-a-longterm-infrastructure-plan-ray-lahood-says
LaHood does not believe that relying on state/local government for this money is because the states don't have money. He points out that the federal government invested in the interstate system, and that's where having a national vision needs to come from.
The interview points out the bridges being built up to 100 years ago, and LaHood basically lays down that any infrastructure plans need to take climate change into account. There are 60,000 structurally deficient bridges, and the tunnels are deteriorating due to salt water from climate change. All this needs to be addressed. He specifically says the Memorial Bridge from Washington to Virginia is about ready to collapse thanks to climate change.
He also says the US is not keeping up with China when it comes to infrastructure - we are now rated 28th in the world, with a grade of D, because we aren't investing.
(Krugman's an op columnist for the NY Times)
The plan is "grift and loot harder".
It sure sounds like it
and where I am, because our state department of transportation is woefully underfunded already, we're already starting to see a ton of that on the local level, and it sucks
Literally as well as metaphorically!
Basically how much will this fuck up future infrastructure projects?
Significantly, but, we're at a point where a future Democratic administration will need to pass a seizure of corruptly obtained assets bill anyone to remove federal and state land which was illegally sold below cost, so we're already screwed.
A lot. Unless the contracts are written by hyoergenius superlawyers, companies will exert maximum property rights in order to maximize profits. And we've all seen how this administration rolls.
The i35 collapse killed 13 people and that didn't seem to be enough. I'm glad we're doing something to get ahead of the problem before a major catastrophe occurs, but I really hope the "private" angle isn't as strong as it seems. I would rather see some sort of neux deal that would put more government employed American workers and engineers in place to fix the problem over the next few decades but we'll see how this plan goes I guess.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/12/17003840/trumps-infrastructure-plan That $100 billion in matching funds is $1 for every $4 of state funding.
Even saying it will spur $1.5 trillion in infrastructure spending is pretty bullhockey.
Plus $1.2trn of the proposed $1.5trn doesn't even actually exist. It's just hoped for private dollars to couple with the actual $200-300bn appropriation that is being requested. It's like saying I'm a millionaire because I could theoretically qualify for that much in loans.
It’s a total scam, just like everything they do.
It depends on how educated the populace is. I know that it is a good idea for democrats to block this. But there will be people yelling from the rafters that Ds are not behind the 1.5 trillion infrastructure spending plan.
Yes, and probably not. Nobody cares about process, and something that isn't changing facts on the ground in your neighborhood, preferably yesterday, doesn't actually exist.
This is literally the same thing that was done to the ACA so it isn't like it would be surprising.
The dems are going to have to start calling a duck a duck if they want to survive. If whatever comes up for a vote is shit, they need to call it out as such and refuse to help pass it.
This is working as intended. The opposition cannot fix things down the road if you make sure there's no road left to go down
Color me shocked!
I'm curious which lackey was responsible for coming up with a way to align his bullshit boasts and tweets with the republican rule of no new spending ever (military and tax cuts excepted). Because you know Trump had less than nothing to do with this plan. Other than paying for it as little as possible I guess.
So I'm fine paying that large of a gas tax. I don't think others will be though.
An extra quarter every time I fill up is one thing.
An extra ~$3 every week is something else.
Our tax situation is incredibly fucked.
It would be per gallon, and seeing how it hasn't been raised since Clinton, would probably still be below it's long term inflation adjusted average.
*Edit*
Well, I guess not. $0.25 increase would put it up at a new high, but still well below most other nations.
Nice, $50,000,000,000 earmarked for Republican voters and mostly Republican states.
... As someone who lives in a rural part of the state, this is kind of BS. The road infrastructure between farms and such is large, and has to be capable of supporting very heavy equipment. It may not be interstates, but it is absolutely vital to this country functioning as a society. Even a basic dirt road needs maintenance. I'm glad that this is at least being acknowledged.
Literally every State has rural areas. Except maybe Jersey.
Full interview can be listened to here.
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On the one hand, a gas tax increase is long overdue.
On the other hand, this is one of the most regressive ways to fund infrastructure development, second only to the current Republican plan of privatization + tolls. So hard to get too excited.
It does have useful secondary effects in encouraging more environmentally friendly behavior and vehicles, but... those probably aren't going to be in reach of a lot of people this would hurt.
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When we actually want to, we build real well.
Well, I guess that explains how the Fallout series still has so many intact buildings after one nuclear war and 200 years of neglect
Well, mostly everything is "turning to dust". It's just that that shit takes time. But it's a currently occurring process.
Well yes, but it lasted up to here.
Some of it didn't.