The improvement of the ailing infrastructure was one of Donald Trump's key election promises. Now the US president has come up with a plan: it's worth $1.5 trillion - and has little prospect of implementation.
First came the drum roll via Twitter: "After foolishly spending 7 trillion in the Middle East, now is the time to start investing in OUR country!" Donald Trump wrote. Shortly thereafter, the US President presented his long-announced infrastructure rehabilitation plan in the United States. The program includes investments of $1.5 trillion. However, the US government is aiming to contribute only 200 billion of it. The missing $1.3 trillion will be invested by states, municipalities and the private sector.
The White House sent the paper to Congress, which in turn has to approve the funds. Because of the foreseeable resistance of the parliamentarians - especially among the Democrats - and tight budgets, the program has little chance of success. A costly tax reform and a week of bailouts have increased the already high US debt. Trump's government wants to raise the necessary funds through cuts in other programs.
Even with the Republicans, there is currently little tendency to spend even more money that you do not actually have. There will also be congressional elections in November. The Democrats are unlikely to be ready to tackle such a huge project with the Republicans. As it stands, the plan is nothing more than "another gift to corporations and wealthy developers at the expense of American workers," the Democrats criticized.
In addition, they denounce the Trump government's target of the federal government as completely inadequate. Democrats in the House of Representatives recently demanded a trillion dollars from the federal government over ten years. They also accused Trump that he tries to pass the costs on to the states and municipalities. His government has rejected these plans as unaffordable.
It is generally undisputed that the infrastructure in the US needs to be renewed. Roads and bridges, airports and the rail network are ailing in many places . "For too long, parliamentarians have been inefficiently investing in infrastructure and allowing it to degenerate," Trump points out his 55-page plan.
Upgrading the US infrastructure was one of President Trump's key promises in the election campaign. Already in June last year, he had called an "infrastructure week", but remained without any noteworthy results. In his State of the Union address, Trump had recently repeated his promise. Experts warn that bad roads, railways and aviation systems cost the US economy a fortune.
The US Congress will discuss the proposals in the coming weeks. Trump invited members of both major parties to talks in the White House on Wednesday.
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