The Trillion-Dollar Question | FRAY 006
President Trump tackles a real estate developer’s dream project: a trillion dollar plan to rebuild America.
Make America’s Infrastructure Great Again
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump promised investment in public works to rebuild America’s infrastructure — one of his many unconventional positions for a modern Republican. So where does the progress on Trump’s trillion-dollar infrastructure plan stand?
The Facts:
- Massive infrastructure or public works projects are often popular and have been hallmark policies of both Republican and Democratic Presidents, from FDR’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) to Eisenhower’s Interstate System (Britannica, National Archives).
- The most recent infrastructure bill, signed by President Obama in 2015, was “a model of bipartisan cooperation” and authorized $305 billion in highway spending to increase capacity and decrease congestion (U.S. News).
- President Trump has cited infrastructure as a cornerstone issue since his campaign announcement in Jun. 2015 and his America First financial plan, unveiled in Detroit in Aug. 2016 (Time, The Atlantic, DonaldJTrump.com).
- The Trump administration outlined its infrastructure priorities in a 50-project list released in mid-January (McClatchy DC). An editorial graphic designer created a visual breakdown of the project, including its impact on energy and jobs (Forbes).
- In the week following the release of Trump’s priority list, Senate Democrats released their own infrastructure plan, which would “create 15 million jobs in 10 years” and repair schools and VA hospitals (Washington Post).
- In a joint address to Congress on Feb. 28, 2017, Trump announced that the project would cost $1 trillion of private and public funds. He highlighted two core principles for the project: “Buy American and hire American” (White House).
- The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) asserts that in order to maintain and modernize America’s current infrastructure, the government needs to invest $2 trillion in public infrastructure by 2025 (ASCE, CNBC). Ed. Note: ASCE is the industry association for civil engineers who would be responsible for these improvements.
And that’s where we stand today. We want to ask our opinion writers: What is an ideal American infrastructure investment plan for 2017?
CONSERVATIVE OPINION
Federal infrastructure programs are predicated on a false notion that only government can build infrastructure. Polling data show that Americans favor infrastructural upkeep, but that’s not the same as saying the federal government should pay for it. It also ignores the fact that federal spending on public works has been relatively consistent for decades.
Taking the ASCE report at face value, why should government take on an even greater role when past funding has resulted in such failure? When the federal government takes on projects, spending doesn’t create lasting jobs or have a significant positive impact. Additionally, many of these projects and facilities are paid for by hidden fees, special taxes, and tolls — fees that never go away.
On the other hand, the private sector is primarily responsible for highly reliable and critical private systems, such as energy generation and communications. The private sector builds and maintains 85% of our infrastructure and outspends the government while making a profit. The ASCE scorecard is flawed, focusing on more superficial aspects and ignoring private sector success in critical infrastructure.
Our national debt is the most important reason to rethink federal spending. At the time of this issue, the federal debt is at $19.917 trillion and climbing. Our debt is the biggest threat to our security. President Trump’s proposal, like many before it, will be borrowed against our national debt. With such massive debt, we should be asking for a debt-reducing government.
Private industry demonstrates efficiency and expertise in our nation’s infrastructure. We should pressure local governments to prioritize budgets and seek public-private partnerships. We must stop borrowing money on wasteful and unnecessary spending.
PROGRESSIVE OPINION
by Sven Britt
Investment in infrastructure is one of the most unifying issues in our increasingly partisan society; both parties agree that infrastructure spending should increase, but differ in their approaches to sourcing and allocating funds. President Trump’s budget proposal would, among other things, allocate $137 billion in tax credits to private companies, incentivizing them to tackle public infrastructure projects. However, Steve Hanke, a former economic adviser to Reagan — who supports privatization — dismisses the use of tax credits as an “opaque way to finance infrastructure.” Hanke argues that while tax credits would preclude the direct assumption of federal debts, they would complicate a tax code that Trump has pledged to simplify. Moreover, private, for-profit companies historically cannot be trusted to work in the best interest of the public.
The newly unveiled Democratic alternative would direct funds toward public schools, VA hospitals, and broadband installation direly needed in rural areas. The plan, which would be funded by closing tax loopholes, would spend federal money directly — a more cost-effective solution than privatization. Such models are not unprecedented; the New Deal catalyzed a remarkable period of job growth by utilizing a direct spending model funded by a progressive tax rate.
The New Deal wasn’t perfect; like all infrastructure overhauls, it was ultimately a temporary stop-gap measure that treated the symptoms of unemployment without providing a permanent solution. Even if we can create 15 million jobs over 10 years, automation will continue to supplant manufacturing jobs unless we develop a pragmatic solution to our core problem. Although better infrastructure is necessary to keep pace with a rapidly changing global landscape, it is not a cure-all for the challenges we face.
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