Infrastructure improvements thoughts

[Dusty Britches]

I subscribe to a daily financial newsletter from Chuck Butler called the Daily Pfenning. Mr. Butler is an investment banker that specializes in currencies.

Here's what he said today:
From the Daily Pfenning:

Last week President Biden presented his latest deficit spending bill… It was a $2.3 Billion so-called infrastructure bill… So, here’s the skinny on how that $2.3 Billion will be spent… courtesy of Bill Bonner’s www.rogueeconomics.com... get out your calculators to check my math if you want…. “Most of the $2.3 trillion will buy votes rather than infrastructure, including $400 billion for “elder and disability care,” $213 billion for “green and affordable homes,” $174 billion for electric vehicles, $137 billion for “school and childcare infrastructure,” $100 billion for “job training” and so forth.

It’s a smorgasbord for Democratic Party urban constituencies that leaves $180 billion for “R&D in tech of the future” and $300 billion in manufacturing subsidies as an afterthought." - Bill Bonner...

As Bill points out…”You may wonder why $2.3 trillion would be needed. After all, roads are supported by gasoline and road taxes… And except for the Interstate highway system, they’re a local matter.

Bridges, too, are paid for by users – either via tolls or taxes.

Ports? Same story, paid for by the shippers who use them. And airports, by ticket sales.

Railroads? Except for the money-losing Amtrak, they are privately owned. If they need more track or rolling stock, they can apply their profits or raise more money honestly.

If a new airport is needed, it is easily funded by the people who use the airport. And if it can’t be paid for in such a reasonable and obvious way, why is it being built?

If the Port of Long Beach, for example, needs more capacity, wouldn’t it make sense to charge the ships that come into port with their containers… and the railroads and trucks that haul it away?

Of course, it would. They know what is needed and how much it is worth. The feds do not. " - Bill Bonner

Private industry will always know and act according to what is best, separate from political influences.

[muzzlebrake]

Good read. Most sane people have always known that most of this money would find it's way back into the pockets of the democrats. It's what they do.
CRIMINALS----ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!

[txpitdog]

I agree that there’s probably a lot of waste intentionally built into the Bill, but I’m surprised that the blog takes such a willfully ignorant opinion on several of items. I am not familiar with the blog so maybe it’s intended to criticize instead of inform.

[SabreKiller]

You can bankon ANY spending bill by the demonrats will be entitiled to make it sound appealing, but in reality it will always be filled with numerous pork projects that only benefit them and their believers.

[meltingfeather]

That post is thin on facts.

[glen]

Biden’s head is thin on brains

[BowhunterB]

That post is thin on facts.

Which post is that? Those who have read it sat that 2/3 of it is related to Green Energy funding.

[camoclad]

2.3 trillion dollars hasn't, nor will ever actually exist

[CoolHandLuke]

That post is thin on facts.

Everything I have seen has only 1/3 of the 2+ trillion being spent on infrastructure.

Even the moderate dems are shooting it down!

[OldRiverRat]

15 years of increased taxes to pay for 10 years of “infrastructure” costs


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[Mudslinger]

Biden’s head is thin on brains

Absolutely!

Look at what they call infrastructure. They say it is roads and such, but once again they lie and very small amounts go to roads and such. 99% goes to their pet projects for votes!

[OldRiverRat]

Absolutely!



Look at what they call infrastructure. They say it is roads and such, but once again they lie and very small amounts go to roads and such. 99% goes to their pet projects for votes!

Remember “shovel ready jobs”?


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[Dusty Britches]

Chuck Butler's post is meant to criticize the wasteful spending and point out that private industry is best situated for investment decisions. Mr. Butler is an investment banker specializing in currency trading, so keep that in mind. All of his posts are from that perspective.

Also, anyone who thinks this bill is going to improve infrastructure is a fool. You bought into Obama's rhetoric on "infrastructure" with ARRA funds that did nothing for the advertised programs but made politicians wealthier. You probably also thought the "stimulus" was going to US citizens who needed it and completely missed that 91% went to pet projects.

[OldRiverRat]

this one should scare you, a bunch of tree huggers running around with the power of the feds telling you what you can and can't do in the woods or on the water. otherwise known as "brown shirts"

This will include a $10 billion investment to “put a new, diverse generation of Americans to work conserving our public lands and waters … and advancing environmental justice through a new Civilian Climate Corps”

im not 100% positive but i'm thinking this could be just a tad racist????

a bipartisan tax credit to provide incentives to low- and middle-income families and to small businesses to invest in disaster resilience, and transition and relocation assistance to support community-led transitions for the most vulnerable tribal communities.




Overview of All Proposed Spending in Biden’s Infrastructure Plan
BY BOWEN XIAO April 5, 2021 Updated: April 5, 2021biggersmaller Print
From traditional projects like roads and bridges to climate initiatives and programs outside the traditional infrastructure scope, President Joe Biden’s plan is an ambitious package he will try to pass through a nearly evenly split Congress in the coming months.

Biden said the plan will invest about $2 trillion this decade. He dubbed his proposal the “American Jobs Plan,” which marks the first part of a two-part economic plan. Some programs and investments did not include a specific price tag. They are added at the end.

Infrastructure Plan:

$621 billion in transportation infrastructure and resilience.

$115 billion to modernize bridges, highways, roads, and main streets most in need of repair. This includes funding to improve air quality, limit greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce congestion.
$20 billion to improve road safety.
$85 billion to modernize existing transit systems.
$80 billion to address Amtrak’s repair backlog.
$174 billion investment in the electric vehicle market.
$25 billion for airports.
$17 billion in inland waterways, coastal ports, land ports of entry, and ferries.
$20 billion for a new program that will reconnect neighborhoods cut off by historic investments and ensure new projects “increase opportunity, advance racial equity and environmental justice, and promote affordable access.”
$25 billion for a dedicated fund to support ambitious projects that have tangible benefits to the regional or national economy but are too large or complex for existing funding programs.
$50 billion in dedicated investments to improve infrastructure resilience.
Building a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030.
Electrify at least 20 percent of the yellow school bus fleet through a new Clean Buses for Kids program.
$111 billion to replace 100 percent of the nation’s lead pipes and service lines to ensure clean, safe drinking water.

$100 Billion to build high-speed broadband infrastructure to reach 100 percent coverage.

$100 Billion to re-energize America’s power infrastructure to form a more resilient grid that will place the United States “on the path to achieving 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035.”

This will include a $10 billion investment to “put a new, diverse generation of Americans to work conserving our public lands and waters … and advancing environmental justice through a new Civilian Climate Corps”
$213 billion to produce, preserve, and retrofit more than two million affordable and sustainable places to live.

Includes establishing a $27 billion Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to mobilize private investment into distributed energy resources; retrofits of residential, commercial, and municipal buildings; and clean transportation.
$100 billion to upgrade and build new public schools through $50 billion in direct grants and an additional $50 billion leveraged through bonds.

$12 billion in community college infrastructure. States will be responsible for using the dollars to address both existing physical and technological infrastructure needs.

$25 billion to help upgrade child care facilities and increase the supply of child care in areas that need it most.

$18 billion for the modernization of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics.

$10 billion in the modernization, sustainability, and resilience of federal buildings,

$400 billion toward expanding access to quality, affordable home- or community-based care for aging relatives and people with disabilities.

$180 billion investment in R&D and the technologies of the future:

Includes $35 billion in the full range of solutions needed to achieve technology breakthroughs that address the climate crisis and position America as the global leader in clean energy technology and clean energy jobs. This includes launching ARPA-C to develop new methods for reducing emissions and building climate resilience, as well as expanding across-the-board funding for climate research.
$15 billion in demonstration projects for climate R&D priorities, including utility-scale energy storage, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, advanced nuclear, rare earth element separations, floating offshore wind, biofuel/bioproducts, quantum computing, and electric vehicles.
15 billion in creating up to 200 centers of excellence that serve as research incubators at Historically black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions to provide graduate fellowships and other opportunities for underserved populations, including through pre-college programs.
$300 billion to strengthen manufacturing supply chains for critical goods

$50 billion to create a new office at the Department of Commerce dedicated to monitoring domestic industrial capacity and funding investments to support production of critical goods.
$50 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research, as called for in the bipartisan CHIPS Act.
$30 billion over 4 years to create U.S. jobs and prevent the severe job losses caused by pandemics through major new investments in medical countermeasures manufacturing; research and development; and related biopreparedness and biosecurity.
$46 billion investment to jumpstart clean energy manufacturing through federal procurement.
$52 billion in domestic manufacturers.
$100 billion in proven workforce development programs targeted at underserved groups and getting students on paths to careers before they graduate from high school.

$5 billion over eight years in support of evidence-based community violence prevention programs. Biden is calling on Congress to invest in job training for formerly incarcerated individuals and justice-involved youth and in improving public safety.
$48 billion in American workforce development infrastructure and worker protection. This includes registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships, creating one to two million new registered apprenticeships slots, and strengthening the pipeline for more women and people of color to access these opportunities through successful pre-apprenticeship programs such as the Women in Apprenticeships in Non-Traditional Occupations.
Some of the programs or proposals that don’t involve money, or did not have a specific funding amount:

– Calling on Congress to tackle long-term unemployment and underemployment through a new subsidized jobs program.

– Calling on Congress to eliminate sub-minimum wage provisions in section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act and expand access to competitive, integrated employment opportunities and fair wages for workers with disabilities.

– Calling on Congress to ensure all workers have a free and fair choice to join a union by passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, and guarantee union and bargaining rights for public service workers.

– Asking Congress to tie federal investments in clean energy and infrastructure to prevailing wages and require transportation investments to meet existing transit labor protections.

– Calling on Congress to provide the federal government with the tools it needs to ensure employers are providing workers with good jobs—including jobs with fair and equal pay, safe and healthy workplaces, and workplaces free from racial, gender, and other forms of discrimination and harassment.

– Biden is calling on Congress to take immediate steps to spur the construction and rehabilitation of homes for underserved communities.

– Calling on Congress to pass the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, which calls for the creation of a new federal tax credit that will produce new equity investment dollars for the development and renovation of 1-4 family housing in distressed urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods.

– Calling on Congress to quadruple support for the Manufacturing Extensions Partnership—increasing the involvement of minority-owned and rurally-located small- and-medium-sized enterprises in technological advancement.

– Calling on Congress to ensure that new jobs created in clean energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure are open and accessible to women and people of color.

– Calling on Congress to invest in job training for formerly incarcerated individuals and justice-involved youth and in improving public safety.

– The President’s plan will invest in vulnerable communities through a range of programs, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program, new initiatives at the Department of Transportation, a bipartisan tax credit to provide incentives to low- and middle-income families and to small businesses to invest in disaster resilience, and transition and relocation assistance to support community-led transitions for the most vulnerable tribal communities.

[CaptainDave]

The bill is over 80% waste with almost nothing to do with "infrastructure." The dem talking points to spin this are attempting to redefine the traditional definition of "infrastructure." Some are on camera stating as such.

Typical dem tactic. Take a word or phrase and continue to redefine it in order to keep covering their needs. Eventually, the word or phrase no longer has a meaning as the definition has either been changed so many times or it has been expanded to the point of including basically everything.