Infrastructure week for real?

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K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
52,767
46,574
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GOP senators already tut tutting about the cost and saying it must be "paid for".

Blank checks backed by debt for tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy and unlimited military funding but fuck you takers with long/shitty commutes over decrepit infrastructure.
 
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VRAMdemon

Diamond Member
Aug 16, 2012
7,871
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We've seen Congress visit the White House squatter and come away thinking there was a deal, only to find out Donald's handlers, Fox News, Limbaugh and Coulter make him renege on it. He will probably throw in a demand for a wall or else no money for roads and bridges. How many barbed-wire surrounded camps can you make for $2 Trillion, anyway?

I don't think Trump even has the faintest idea what an infrastructure plan would look like. I suspect that Mitch will tell Trump that there's not enough GOP support and he will claim that he was conned by Chuck and Nancy and then back out of it.

Since Trump hasn't actually managed to make one of these "deals" and actually follow through on it, it doesn't really matter what he's proposing, anyway

Does Trump even know that when the government hires people to build things that it typically does pay them?

I'll believe it when I see it...
 

Starbuck1975

Lifer
Jan 6, 2005
14,698
1,909
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Our government is incapable of implementing visionary infrastructure investments as witnessed during the FDR and Eisenhower eras.
 
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Feb 4, 2009
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We've seen Congress visit the White House squatter and come away thinking there was a deal, only to find out Donald's handlers, Fox News, Limbaugh and Coulter make him renege on it. He will probably throw in a demand for a wall or else no money for roads and bridges. How many barbed-wire surrounded camps can you make for $2 Trillion, anyway?

I don't think Trump even has the faintest idea what an infrastructure plan would look like. I suspect that Mitch will tell Trump that there's not enough GOP support and he will claim that he was conned by Chuck and Nancy and then back out of it.

Since Trump hasn't actually managed to make one of these "deals" and actually follow through on it, it doesn't really matter what he's proposing, anyway

Does Trump even know that when the government hires people to build things that it typically does pay them?

I'll believe it when I see it...

What’s funny is Trump had that deal during the first meeting with Chuck & Nancy. Boarder security funding and partial fence or wall funding for infrastructure.
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
52,767
46,574
136
Our government is incapable of implementing visionary infrastructure investments as witnessed during the FDR and Eisenhower eras.

The government isn't even interested in funding the basic upkeep of the New Deal and Ike era assets or even the Gilded Age stuff that much of the country's productivity depends on. America builds stuff, moves on, lets everything rot, then expresses shock that we got to where we are.
 

Bitek

Lifer
Aug 2, 2001
10,676
5,239
136
Our government is incapable of implementing visionary infrastructure investments as witnessed during the FDR and Eisenhower eras.

Correction, one half of our govt. They only care about tax cuts.

The other half wishes, puts out plans (like the $100B in the ARRA, and now the GND) only to watch the other side freak out about socialism, taxes and deficits until it has the life choked out of it.

Will Trump being an R make the difference?

Call me skeptical.
 
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Jhhnn

IN MEMORIAM
Nov 11, 1999
62,365
14,685
136
Our government is incapable of implementing visionary infrastructure investments as witnessed during the FDR and Eisenhower eras.

Smaller Gubmint! Lower taxes! All hail the Gods of trickle down Capitalism!
 

Jaskalas

Lifer
Jun 23, 2004
35,833
10,134
136
People want to make a deal with Trump.
Trump wants to make a deal with people.
Trump is too stupid to know how the world works, or what his Republican handlers have to say about this. Same thing happened with North Korea.
 

brycejones

Lifer
Oct 18, 2005
29,942
30,797
136
Our government is incapable of implementing visionary infrastructure investments as witnessed during the FDR and Eisenhower eras.

Well when one party signs a pledge to never raise taxes so there are revenue streams for said infrastructure investments its pretty damn difficult to get anything done.
 
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
146
Smaller Gubmint! Lower taxes! All hail the Gods of trickle down Capitalism!

Well, do you think toll-roads are the answer? Personally I find it to be an asshole move for people that depend on that ONE particular road.

Honestly the majority of government just needs to trim some fat.

States like CA have:
-Some of the highest property taxes (progressive) mostly due to the highest property values in the nation.
-The highest fuel/excise taxes (regressive) in the nation
-Some of the highest sales taxes (regressive) in the nation
-The highest state income taxes (progressive) in the nation
-AND toll roads

And they STILL can't find a few coins in their purse to pay for infrastructure?

It's no wonder there are so many fucking broke people in CA.

Going back to my post above - How the hell do you not think that we need some kind of smaller government? Look at California. #1 state with the most hobos. #1 state with the highest taxes out the ass.... Doesn't seem like taxing taxing taxing is a winning formula in life.

The problem is that there is no reform or consolidation of government. It just gets more and more and more and more bloated - or at least it has in the last 20 years.
 
Feb 4, 2009
35,862
17,403
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Going back to my post above - How the hell do you not think that we need some kind of smaller government? Look at California. #1 state with the most hobos. #1 state with the highest taxes out the ass.... Doesn't seem like taxing taxing taxing is a winning formula in life.

The problem is that there is no reform or consolidation of government. It just gets more and more and more and more bloated - or at least it has in the last 20 years.

....and #1 State for income, higher than many Countries
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
52,767
46,574
136
California and New York is THE de-facto examples of a place where you can VERY CLEARLY see "haves" and "have-nots"

If you can't see this in the rest of the country I can only conclude you're not looking very carefully or have decided not to see it. We have economic segregation galore.
 
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zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,864
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Yeah lol, home of the most 1%ers is that what you're saying?

California and New York is THE de-facto examples of a place where you can VERY CLEARLY see "haves" and "have-nots"

The reason there are a lot of homeless people in these areas is because there are more substantial services available to them and, especially with CA, weather is very conducive to street living.

It's kind of telling that the wealthiest places for individual, well-employed taxpayers are also able to provide substantial services to their burdened homeless and needs-based populations, yeah? Also consider that poor red states have a hilarious habit of just outright busing their "troubled" people to these states. Because, you know, they can't be bothered to give a shit about anyone.

These states are further taking care of other states' "problems," and they are still able to pay back welfare to those same states.
 
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FelixDeCat

Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
31,026
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Because trump might try to strip the funding in order to build his "wall"...….ohhh how suddenly we forget!!

Hmmm.....I wonder what a $2 Trillion Dollar wall looks like? If it keeps out two trillion illegal aliens, then BUILD THAT WALL!!
 

VRAMdemon

Diamond Member
Aug 16, 2012
7,871
10,334
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Even if by some miracle, there is general agreement between both houses of Congress, and the whitehouse, and a bill passes the House and gets enough bi-partisan support in the senate to overcome a filibuster, and sent to to Trumps desk to sign, you know that he's going to see that as a moment of maximum leverage and refuse to sign it unless some pet project of his (wall, golf course, prison camp, 50 foot gold statue of himself) is included.

Trump doesn't think a deal is good for him unless the other side hates it. Charlie Brown. Lucy. Football.
 
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Feb 4, 2009
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Hmmm.....I wonder what a $2 Trillion Dollar wall looks like? If it keeps out two trillion illegal aliens, then BUILD THAT WALL!!

Numb nuts, the President had increased boarder security, partial wall funding secure during his first meetup with Chuck & Nancy. They wanted immigration reform and infrastructure spending in exchange. Overall a pretty fair deal.
That was all set to happen until Rush, Laura Ingram and Hannity went ape shit over it.
 
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Jhhnn

IN MEMORIAM
Nov 11, 1999
62,365
14,685
136
Going back to my post above - How the hell do you not think that we need some kind of smaller government? Look at California. #1 state with the most hobos. #1 state with the highest taxes out the ass.... Doesn't seem like taxing taxing taxing is a winning formula in life.

The problem is that there is no reform or consolidation of government. It just gets more and more and more and more bloated - or at least it has in the last 20 years.

You clearly believe things that aren't true. The federal workforce was almost 10M in 1984 & is about 9.1M today. The population grew from 236M to 325M in the meanwhile. See the charts-

https://www.volckeralliance.org/true-size-government
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
52,767
46,574
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As expected the GOP is balking at spending anything and are freaked out about the idea of possibly rolling back any of the tax cut to pay for it.

But the initiative has run into immediate opposition from Republicans who balk at the hefty price tag and from conservative allies who are pushing lawmakers to block it. Those opposed to the deal include Trump’s top aide, Mick Mulvaney, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is not in favor of the spending, according to people who have spoken to him.

“The question most of our members are asking is, ‘How are we going to pay for this?’ ” Thune said. “We’ll see.”

Many GOP figures are simply calling the task impossible.

“I haven’t seen any set of pay-fors that would come anywhere close to $2 trillion that Republicans and Democrats in Congress can agree upon,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said.

Still, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform said that whatever heartburn the $2 trillion figure generated among conservatives, it was accompanied by an even bigger wave of relief that Trump had not committed to any particular tax increase.

“Everything is going exactly the way we wanted it to,” Norquist, the organization’s president, said Friday. “The White House all came out immediately — the White House staffers and others saying tax increases are off the table. Republican leadership, House and Senate, came and said that tax increases are off the table. It couldn’t have happened better.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...3217240a539_story.html?utm_term=.9103cd9056e7

See? Unpaid for tax cuts that overwhelmingly help the wealthy and corporation is good and proper. Anything that might help ordinary people is evil socialism including money for your crumbling roads. Know your place serfs.
 
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Bitek

Lifer
Aug 2, 2001
10,676
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As expected the GOP is balking at spending anything and are freaked out about the idea of possibly rolling back any of the tax cut to pay for it.







https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...3217240a539_story.html?utm_term=.9103cd9056e7

See? Unpaid for tax cuts that overwhelmingly help the wealthy and corporation is good and proper. Anything that might help ordinary people is evil socialism including money for your crumbling roads. Know your place serfs.

As easily predicted.

"Derp, where's the pay fors for this?" GOP asks.

Go F yourself. That's where they are.

GOP doesn't build anything, they only tear down. Don't vote for them if you want to do anything constructive in this country.
 

trenchfoot

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
15,833
8,429
136
Just repeal the irresponsible Republican tax cuts and we're even (not balanced of course, but no further behind). I'd rather have better roads than richer billionaires.

Now that the uber rich got their tax cuts, they don't give a shit about how the infrastructure program is going to pay for itself along with every other program that benefits the middle class and the poor

All they're concerned about (including of course the Trump clan) is how they're going to cut themselves in on what's going to be a potential boondoggle, a cash grab similar to what KBR (Halliburton) pulled off in Iraq.
 
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