One of President Trump’s biggest campaign promises was fixing America’s infrastructure: Revitalizing U.S. roads, bridges, and airports.
But, in typical President Trump fashion, we are filled with plenty of hype surrounding his infrastructure plan, but lack many, if any, real details.
So, here’s what we know:
- The president has put his director of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, in charge of the infrastructure issue.
- The White House is thinking of getting the job done through a public-private partnership. Meaning, Trump doesn’t necessarily want the federal government to spend a lot of money hiring people to pave roads and build bridges. He would prefer to entice the private sector to build roads and bridges for him using a tax-cut plan designed to turn a profit for them.
- There also has been talk that Cohn is contemplating paying for the $1 trillion effort by offering a one-time repatriation tax-reduction holiday, through which Washington would allow U.S. companies to bring their mass amount of overseas’ cash back home at a reduced tax rate.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have shown a willingness to work with Trump on boosting the nation’s aging infrastructure. The big sticking point is how we’re going to fund it.
Recent polls show that a huge percentage of Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, favor spending more on infrastructure. This should come as no surprise in a country where potholes mar many roads, sewer pipes leak, bridges buckle, and dams burst.
Trump is clearly in the driver’s seat on this issue. Plus, as a builder, he knows a thing or two about construction and about getting things done on budget.
Plus, the new administration knows infrastructure spending has a long-term economic benefit that will increase both long-term productivity and revenue.
But the lack of details or a formal plan leaves us with many questions: When does a new infrastructure plan start to take shape? And how will it be financed?
One thing I do hope for is that Cohn and company will try to keep lawmakers’ hands off the future infrastructure projects as much as possible. It would be a shame to see lawmakers ruin potential “make America great again” projects by slipping a ton of pork-barrel spending into the mix.
I’d like to invite your feedback. In the comment section below, please let me know what kind of spending plan you expect to see. Do you think the Trump administration is overpromising? Will Trump’s big infrastructure initiatives head down the same troubled path as his healthcare plan?
Good Investing,
Mike Burnick
Source : https://www.edelsoninstitute.com/commodities/trumps-1-trillion-infrastructure-plan-know/?campid=112059&em=joshtestj2s%40gmail.com