Day 389: Trump, Republicans Manage to Raise Federal Deficit While Providing Less Infrastructure Support

All so rich donors and corporations could pocket more cash.

For years, the Paul Ryans of the Republican world decried Barack Obama’s budgets and spending as a crisis, regardless of the perilous state of the then-economy. Donald Trump lambasted Obama for an increase in the debt and ridiculously bragged that he would eliminate it within eight years.

Now, as Trump brags about the strength of said economy, his proposed infrastructure plan, released Monday, would continue to add to the national debt.

This follows Friday’s budget vote that, when coupled with the tax bill, will also add trillions to the national debt.

Trump’s infrastructure proposal also seeks more federal dollars.

The administration’s proposal is expected to seek $200 billion in new federal funds, according to a senior administration official, who briefed reporters over the weekend on the condition of anonymity. That includes $100 billion on “incentives” to match state, local and private investment spending on infrastructure projects, and $20 billion for expanding federal loan programs that focus on various kinds of infrastructure (rail, water, transportation).

In a vacuum, a robust infrastructure plan is exactly what many parts of the U.S. need. Roads are failing, bridges are creaky and airports near overhauls. Trump is spinning the proposal as a $1.5 trillion plan. However, it relies on hundreds of billions of dollars to be kicked in by state and local governments, as well as private organizations, to meet that figure.

Trump has expressed wariness about public-private partnerships in the past. Here, however, he is forced to rely on them, in large part due to the — and this number might sound familiar — $1.5 trillion tax cut that primarily benefited wealthy Americans and corporations.

Without the tax cut, a strong, deficit-neutral infrastructure plan — that wouldn’t rely on public-private partnerships — would have been very possible. Instead, the budget will go up and the amount of necessary infrastructure support will go down.

389 days in, 1073 to go

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