Infrastructure investments

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Republicans have opposed Obama for years on increased infrastructure spending, but all of a sudden this might change..

For the time being, however, infrastructure spending has become a rallying cry. In his acceptance speech Wednesday morning, Trump again pledged to make such spending a top priority. “We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals,” Trump said. “We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.” Marcia Hale, president of Building America’s Future, a group representing a variety of city and state officials and former officials, called on Trump to make an infrastructure plan part of his first 100 days in office. 

Plans to boost government infrastructure spending have been on the table for years. In his fiscal year 2016 budget proposal, for example, President Obama asked Congress to support a $478 billon, six-year public-works plan for roads, railroads and ports. He tried to bundle that with business tax reform. Funding for the infrastructure plan would have been offset with the windfall from a temporary tax adjustment that would have encouraged corporations to bring back profits parked overseas. But Republicans in Congress, who said they were concerned about the federal deficit, blocked Obama’s proposals. Those lawmakers could prove an obstacle for Trump, too. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) favors linking infrastructure plans to comprehensive tax reform. Meanwhile, leading economists have made the case for more infrastructure spending.

Trump’s call for new roads, bridges and other public works finds wide support - The Washington Post

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Previous expansions of the nation’s infrastructure — such as the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression and the Interstate Highway System initiative of the 1950s — have identified many useful tasks that could be done by properly supervised unskilled workers. Together, the earnings from such jobs plus the small basic income grant would exceed the poverty threshold. ... We could provide more generous support for those most in need, while at the same time providing them with an opportunity to contribute directly to the nation’s prosperity.

Handouts With a Twist: Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure