In a city polarized by political differences, there is amazing unanimity in Washington over the sad state of the nation’s infrastructure and the urgent need…
In a city polarized by political differences, there is amazing unanimity in Washington over the sad state of the nation’s infrastructure and the urgent need to address it. The question is how to pay for it.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gives U. S. infrastructure a barely passing grade of D+. The group estimates it will take $2 trillion on top of current levels of spending to bring it all up to snuff.
President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leaders agreed last month to invest that same amount to restore, rebuild and expand crumbling infrastructure, from roads, bridges, schools and waterworks to airports, the electrical grid, rural broadband and, we would hope, more clean renewable energy sources to mitigate against climate change.
But Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer failed last week to reach agreement on where to get the money. So, what about raising taxes? There’s simply no other choice.
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The wealthy and big corporations, which received massive tax breaks from the 2017 Trump-GOP tax cuts and are prime beneficiaries of a strong infrastructure system, need to contribute more and start paying their fair share.
Other funding sources are inadequate. Raising the federal gas tax (or replacing it with a mileage-based user fee) could be part of the answer, but it’s a diminishing resource because of the growing use of electric and other fuel-efficient vehicles.
