Sen. Sanders on Trump’s Infrastructure Plan: It’s a Scam
President-elect Donald Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure investment proposal is no more than “massive tax breaks to large companies” that would miss on long-term benefits for the economy, former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said this week.
“The plan he offered is a scam that gives massive tax breaks to large companies and billionaires on Wall Street who are already doing phenomenally well. Trump would allow corporations that have stashed their profits overseas to pay just a fraction of what the companies owe in federal taxes,” Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, wrote in an op-ed on Medium.com published Nov. 21.
“He would allow the companies to ‘invest’ in infrastructure projects in exchange for even more tax breaks. Trump’s plan is corporate welfare coming and going,” Sanders added, stressing that he would reintroduce in January his $1 trillion infrastructure proposal from 2015 as an alternative to Trump’s plan.
Sanders’ “Rebuild America Act” five-year bill called for adding $75 billion annually into the federal Highway Trust Fund account, establishing an infrastructure bank, expanding financing programs for stakeholders and authorizing $15 billion annually to improve freight and passenger rail corridors. The legislation did not gain traction in the Republican-led Congress.
Trump has pledged to push legislation during his first 100 days that would provide $137 billion in tax credits so companies build and maintain roadways and bridges to help realize a $1 trillion investment in new infrastructure over 10 years. Republican congressional leaders have yet to endorse Trump’s proposal.
