“Please, please don’t throw me in that briar patch!” I am distrustful of Schumer, and he’s clearly not admitting that the so-called infrastructure plan is just another sop to Trump’s rich friends. I miss Harry Reid already, but Schumer is smart enough to count votes and know which side his bread is buttered. He’s just a bit too friendly with Wall Street and the DNC “centrists” for my tastes. We shall see, let’s swear in a new Congress and inaugurate the man least-qualified to hold the office of President since James Buchanan before we start celebrating.
There is no infrastructure plan. It’s as real as the wall.
And it would be easy to fund. The last lime the Federal gas tax was raised (1993!) it was 10-15% of the price of a gallon of gas, depending on your locale.
Either raise the tax to keep up with inflation since 1993 or convert it to 15% of the price of a gallon.
The gas tax also has the advantage of being simple and easy to collect.
Which is probably why this will not happen.
I’m guessing the plan is to use eminent domain to hand property over to his real estate friends.
I do not trust Schumer. Period.
He has no Real Estate friends, no one in New York will do business with him. Russians, and Deutsche Bank on the other hand…
The only details of Trump’s plan thus far have indicated that it isn’t a direct spending bill, but rather a bill entirely comprised of tax expenditures with no requirement that the recipients of infrastructure-related tax breaks actually invest in infrastructure projects. As is, it’s simply another obscenely huge giveaway to wealthy business owners. If Schumer signs on to that, then there needs to be an uprising demanding he get the boot. Durbin should’ve had the job in the first place.
A trillion dollar give away to large contractors of new projects at the expense of fixing whats on the ground now that people have to deal with on a daily basis.
Yurtle doesnt like it b/c it deters money away from propping up the coal industry and lining the pockets of the petroleum big wigs. Oh and OF COURSE its all going to be DEBT financed…sweet
“We’re not going to oppose something simply because it has the name Trump on it . . .
Why the fuck not?
Any type of tax will never be allowed. These fools do not care about fixing the infrastructure. And the morons who voted for Trump evidently know nothing about the financial gifts Agent Orange plans to give to billionaires. The end of this country is on its way.
When health care reform was being initiated in 2009, Shumer assured us that the single payer option would definitely be on the table. I don’t trust him either.
Obama made modest proposals to boost the economy, and the GOP went apeshit about adding to the deficit. Trump wants to blow up the deficit by another $1T, and it’s crickets from the GOP.
\not that I have any problem with infrastructure spending - it’s a good idea. Just pisses me off how the GOP’s decision making is guided by skin color, instead of merit.
“It’s a trap!”
Krugman’s analysis, from the Times:
“We already know enough about [Trump’s] infrastructure plan to suggest, strongly, that it’s basically fraudulent, that it would enrich a few well-connected people at taxpayers’ expense while doing very little to cure our investment shortfall. Progressives should not associate themselves with this exercise in crony capitalism.”
Just want to put this put there:
Schumer’s my Senator and yeah, I wouldn’t trust him to water my plants. Having said that, he’s trying to walk a fine line between not being a reactionary (we’ve got other Senators for that) and understanding that this is a grift.
He’s also sowing the seeds to division within the Rethugs. Now that’s good.
NY’ers know what infrastructure boondoggles are all about; one is called “The second avenue subway line” that’s just now being completed. After 20+years.
Well, eventually.
It was on the table, it just had a very short shelf life.
Try just 4 stops, and it’s closer to 90 years, this had been going on since the 1920’s… I’m 56, and I am not holding my breath it will be completed during my lifetime.
I’m sorry but Buchanan was hugely more qualified.
Neither this article nor the Politico one it links to mentions details of the “plan.” If it’s just tax credits for investors as has been floated recently then it’s not really infrastructure investment. In either case it would be an excuse for Republicans to yell about deficits and cut social programs, not that they won’t do the latter as much as they think they can get away with plus a little more.
Not sure what Schumer is doing here and I don’t trust him either, but we’ll see. I just can’t imagine any good can come out of this incoming administration & congress.
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