December 3, 2016

How Donald Trump’s Infrastructure Plan Fails America

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2016/12/01/293948/how-donald-trumps-infrastructure-plan-fails-america/
"Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump boasted frequently and with great vigor that he would rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure as part of his pledge to make America great again. This claim turns out to be as bankrupt as many of his businesses. In the place of actual federal spending on critical projects, President-elect Trump has pushed the idea of authorizing a pool of tax credits that would flow to equity investors in large public-private partnership, or P3, deals. These project debts would be repaid by tolls and other fees levied on the people and businesses that use the new facilities.2 The plan suffers from five fatal flaws: The plan would push state and local governments to use equity capital that can cost 300 percent to 500 percent more than capital raised through traditional municipal bonds. The plan would provide no support for thousands of critical maintenance and reconstruction projects. The plan would raise taxes on middle-class Americans in the form of high-cost tolls and other user fees necessary to satisfy the 10 percent to 14 percent annual returns demanded by equity investors.3 The plan would leave behind rural communities and smaller cities and towns that are not large enough to generate sufficient toll or other user fee revenues to satisfy equity investors. The plan would not meaningfully increase total economic activity, employment, or real wages. Taken together, these defects make the Trump infrastructure plan a nonstarter. In the end, no rhetorical bluster or sleight of hand can obscure the fact that the Trump plan shovels money at wealthy investors instead of solving real infrastructure challenges."