..that is the headline from a June 6th, 2017 article written up by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for the Telegraph Business section. This article has a firewall so I went straight to the source, the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), to find the facts.
Today, while the investigations into the Trump regime are ramping up, it comes as no surprise that Donald Trump was in Ohio showcasing his latest talking points as he appeared to be reading from a script that included a lot of verbiage about infrastructure.
I’d already heard earlier reports that the Trump/GOP infrastructure plans amounted to massive tax breaks for the elite GOP donor base and a scam to further privatize public infrastructure for private gain. Turns out the plan has more value as just another rhetorical device to conceal and deflect than it does as a “job creator” or to “make America great again”.
Here is the small excerpt from the article that, along with Trump’s alternative Ohio “infrastructure” event, prompted my search into the ASCE:
Donald Trump’s vaulting scheme to rebuild America’s derelict bridges, roads, ports, and tunnels, has dwindled to almost nothing.
The level of fiscal stimulus will be too small to have any macro-economic effect [...]
The sketchy plans released by the White House this week suggest that US federal government may not put up any new money at all.
“There is concern that this might even be net loss, an actual disinvestment in infrastructure,”
said Casey Dinges from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Here is the ASCE report card on the Trump/GOP agenda:
a few excerpts from that ASCE report card | by: Becky Moylan May 26th, 2017:
On May 23, 2017, President Donald Trump released his budget request for Fiscal Year 2018, which follows the blueprint, or “skinny,” budget released in March 2017. The proposal cuts funding for all federal departments except the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security. The agency with the largest percentage decrease in funding is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental Protection Agency
The proposal would reduce the EPA’s funding to $5.65 billion, a decrease of $2.6 billion, or 31% cut, from the FY17 enacted level and would include the elimination of about 20% of the workforce. Adjusting for inflation, this would represent the nation’s lowest funding for the agency since the mid-1970s.
next up..since today Trump’s soaring rhetoric touting the achievements like the Panama canal while slashing the budget
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Under the proposed budget, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would receive $5 billion, a $400 million increase from the previous Administration’s request of $4.6 billion, though it still represents a decrease of more than 16% from the FY17 enacted level.
yet after a lot of talk from Trump about America taking the lead..
U.S. Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would receive $28 billion, a 5.6% decrease from the FY17 annualized CR level. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) would receive $646 million, a 70% decrease from the FY16 enacted level
Again, Trump’s promises made today in Ohio, couldn’t be more opposite the truth..
U.S. Department of Transportation
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) would receive $76 billion, a 4.5% decrease from the FY17 enacted level. [...]
..Disappointingly the budget does include any proposals on fixing the HTF (highway trust fund)..[...]
The budget proposes cutting funding for Amtrak in half, to $760 million for FY18. The Administration is proposing eliminating subsidies for long-distance routes, which would likely lead to their discontinuation.
The slashing deepens across the board..
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) budget request is $6.65 billion, a decrease of $840.5 or 11.2%
Department of Energy Office of Science
The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science is the single largest funder of the physical sciences in the United States. Spending for the office would fall 17% to $4.473 billion
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would drastically cut into the agency’s climate research, closing many labs and programs. NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), one of the agency’s primary research arms, would see its budget drop by 22%
U.S. Geological Survey
The budget requests $922.2 million for the U.S. Geological Survey, a cut of 14% or $137.8 million. Among the specific programs, the cuts include 26.3% for Climate and Land Use Change, 11.4% for Natural Hazards, 18.5% for water resources, and 20.7% for core science programs
Department of Education
The 2018 Budget proposes $59 billion for the Department of Education, a $9 billion or 13% reduction. The budget proposal would eliminate entirely both the $2.4 billion Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants program and the $1.2 billion 21st Century Community Learning Centers afterschool program,which provide funding for STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) instruction and teacher training.
So every single word uttered by Donald Trump today amounted to another load of horseshit (video). — and again Trump repeats the latest republican lie — that Dems are obstructing infrastructure development
.
Otoh..
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has this report card for the Dems infrastructure plan..
Days after President Trump was the first to use the word “infrastructure” in an inaugural address, Senate Democrats doubled-down on his promise to invest in infrastructure by offering their own plan to increase investment by $1 trillion over 10 years, and purportedly create more than 15 million new jobs in the process.
The plan, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and dubbed “A Blueprint to Rebuild America’s Infrastructure,” proposes many investments that ASCE has advocated for over the last two decades, including in the 2013 Infrastructure Report Card
— emphasis added
One has to read it through to see the stark difference |by: Becky Moylan | January 26th, 2017.
There is no comparison between what the Trump/GOP have in store, which is not only not an infrastructure plan, it is an anti-infrastructure plan vs What the Dems have lined up which is REAL and ready to go.
Again here is what ASCE Casey Dinges said of the Trump/GOP infrastructure plan:
And this from ASCE Casey Dinges from another source:
DINGES: It’s easy to take for granted your water supply, your bridges, your tunnels, until they’re suddenly not there.
Certainly in this region, we’ve seen a number of — I should point out transit was the lowest graded, “D-minus,” across the country, certainly here in the Washington area, the capital of the United States, just a 40-year-old system that’s showing signs of complete breakdown after decades of under-investment and ignored maintenance.
So, it’s a wake-up call for the country.
People need to realize, this issue is already costing each family $9 a day.
And what our economic studies suggest is that for an investment of just $3 per day per family, you could eliminate that drag on the economy and if we don’t we’re putting at risk 2.5 million jobs by the year 2025, and nearly $4 trillion in U.S. GDP.
That’s the equivalent of Germany’s GDP.
..so basically, Trump’s Ohio infrastructure bloviating today is not just awful because of his transparent attempt — imo — to deflect away from numerous investigations into his illegitimate, un-Constitutional maladministration and his ongoing obstruction of justice...
...the Trump and the GOP austerity agenda masquerading as “fiscal prudence” (or whatever they’re calling it these days), is a drag on the economy, is threatening the loss of 2.5 millions jobs, devastating for the environment. and is also right on track to tripling the cost of everything needed now and into the future — not imo
— Meanwhile today, June 7th, 2017 on MSNBC, Greta Van Susteren, formerly of Fox “news”, allowed U.S. speaker of the House of representatives Paul Ryan to repeat numerous republican lies.
The first bit of spun up republican ass-covering is the word “obstruction” or “Democrat obstruction” that Trump and the GOP are bandying about. Ryan made sure to repeat it throughout his BS session with Greta Van Susteren. Never mind the 8 year GOP obstruction that began the night of President Obama’s inauguration — with the racist birtherism accusation as its foundation.
Today’s lying revolved around Ryan’s latest scam titled the financial “Choice Act”. A piece of legislation that would undo the Dodd-Frank protections carefully developed with Elizabeth Warren’s almost single-handedly built CFPB after the 2007-8 financial meltdown.
Debunking Ryan’s lies:
It's based on a lie about "Too Big To Fail." "Dodd-Frank actually made [too big to fail] the law of the land," Ryan wrote. This is a common conservative refrain...
Paul Ryan (R) pretends that he is protecting smaller regional/community banks from Dodd-Frank as if their failure is caused by CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) regulations.
Another lie debunked:
… the main reason they're dying is that inequality and wage stagnation, combined with the mass accumulations of wealth among the 1 percent, has driven interest rates permanently into the basement. And that creates a much tougher environment for small banks to thrive.
— this is what republican do. Pretend they are looking out for everyday people in order to do the opposite, as their 1% elite donors require of them
— the word “choice” seems to be a favorite with republicans these days. Severely limit peoples choices, and then label it “choice” — and the msm never seems to question a lie that obvious (?)
# # #
— Also; while all this is going on the senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is poised to sneak Massive tax cuts for the moneyed elite via Trumpcare using a fast-track process — forcing another extremely unpopular republican agenda down our throats