Everybody knows we have a really bad problem with our infrastructure and it is getting worse. We need more than a trillion dollars just to fix the most serious deficits. So what do you suggest doing to pay for this problem?
Here is my solution. First get rid of the Trump tax cuts and force a minimum tax on corporations that make a profit. This will force the wealthy who in the end get the most out of an improved infrastructure as it helps the business of doing in this country and what is god for business is good for the wealthy and the corporations. Then I would place a two percent tax to enable us to sell infrastructure bonds backed by the US to raise more funds for the project. I have read this would enable us alone to raise 500 billion dollars. This part of the plan would cause everyone to help pay for the project, including those who might not contribute through the Federal Income tax. These two changes would raise over 1 trillion dollars to be put into starting to fix our infrastructure that needs it so badly.
In the MSNBC series called 'American Swamp' they talked about the deterioration of the Hudson River tunnel that connects Manhattan with New Jersey. There was a series of projects known as the Gateway Program, which includes the Hudson tunnel, a $1.7 billion replacement for the Portal Bridge in the Meadowlands, and other improvements between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station. These structures are more than a century old and badly in need of repair. The Hudson tunnel is used by over 200,000 people a day under the Hudson River.
Lawmakers from New York and New Jersey agreed to pay half the cost and the Obama administration had agreed to pay for the other half the cost of the new bridge and tunnel, but Trump walked it back. The project's supporters argue that they're federal assets that are critical pieces of infrastructure in the region's economy and merit federal support. Amtrak owns both.
It's only a matter of time that some catastrophe involving a crumbling tunnel, collapsing dams and eroding bridges will fail, and when they do it will take many lives. Infrastructure needs to be a priority before it happens. Make no mistake, repairing our infrastructure brings many jobs to both skilled and non-skilled workers. There is a 2 trillion dollar gap needed to be filled if we can expect our infrastructure to be repaired by 2025. Americans must be willing to pay, rates and fees that reflect the true cost of using, maintaining and improving all infrastructure, including our water, waste, transportation and energy services. In last November’s elections, 79 percent of all state and local ballot measures supporting transportation infrastructure investments passed. Voters across 31 states raised their own taxes and fees in exchange for better roads, bridges and transit.
The government can put a small increase in the gasoline tax which hasn't been raised since 1993. Many states, including my own, are going to a 'VMT' fee for automobiles. That's a fee similar to a toll that charges drivers a fee for using the highways. The most traveled US highway goes through my state and I'm okay paying a fee to use the highway if that's the only way my state is able to keep up with the repairs it needs. We need to get our lawmakers to take the problem of infrastructure repair seriously and put it higher up on their agenda.
Has anyone else seen the amazing railroad station in N. Korea, or the super glitzy skyline of Guangzhou, China? The subway in N. Korea doubles as a bomb shelter in the event of a nuclear attack on Pyongyang. Seriously, the United States is the richest country in the world, so why are we not at the very least getting our infrastructure repaired so it's safe for all of us?
