An early release of Trump’s infrastructure program was released by McClatchey.
High level:
Cost 137 Billion, half public
Jobs, 193K direct, 241 indirect
They are actually understating the number of jobs they will create I think. There are couple of projects with no numbers (An Alaska LNG Pipeling) and a solar plant in the mojave desert. My guess is these were sitting on Governor’s shelfs. One project, I-93 in NH is actually underway and about half finished.
The Democrats proposed a $1 Trillion infrastructure plan, which would amount to 100 Billion a year and create 1.5 million jobs.
That sounds like a lot. It isn’t really. The US creates about 2.5 million a year – so you would get a one time increase in the first year. But over the course of 10 years even the Democratic plan would account for just 5% of all jobs created.
Here is the mix in Trump’s plan:
Airports 4.7 Billion (KC, Sea, St Louis)
Electricity transmission: 13.3 (includes projects to allow transmission from wind farms in Texas)
Highways: 21 Billion
Waterways: 13.9 Billion (includes upgrades to turbines on TVA)
Mass Transit: 48.23 Billion (includes bullet train from Dallas to Houston, Green line extension in Boston, track upgrades in NE corridor, and subway extension in Detroit, modernization in Chicago)
National Initiate – replacement of FAA software (good luck with that) and one other project
Oil and Gas: Pipelines 5 billion
Ports: 6 billion
Water: 5 billion (includes 3 billion for cleanup of Lake Erie)
Hmm, how many times have FEDs mis-spent the FAA endowment for upgrade? lol
See my post below.
ASG
Its the 2017 version of 1984:
We have always been upgrading the FAA software.
I don’t really care which “estimates” are used by which political group. They are always much too low. Why? Well, part of the reason is the “1/3rd” idea that a successful businessperson once taught me. Anything and everything that you plan should be planned with a budget of 1/3rd more than you truly expect to need to spend. Why? Because things go wrong, that’s why. The bigger the project, the more chances for fuckups. And if things do not go wrong? (Once every blue moon, in my experience.) Then you have extra money to use for other things.
However, political estimates are just those. Political. These people know the “1/3rd” rule or some variation on it. They’ve been around. These budgets are promulgated with one thing in mind…getting the proles to vote for the promulgator. They mean nothing as soon as they are put into law. never have, never will. There are so many holes into which money can be skimmed on big projects. So many.
Now…Trump has signalled that he is not going to play that game, so maybe he isn’t. (Donald Trump blasts defense contracting titans for overpriced weapons) I’ll believe it when I see some projects start to come in on time and within budget. Even if he really means business, the vast corporate and economic culture will not willingly that style of ball. They will have to be cowed into it.
We’ll see.
Won’t we.
So far he’s been pretty good at cowing.
Trump Sealed Carrier Deal With Mix of Threat and Incentive.
Hasn’t he.
President Trump Meeting with Automakers to Bring Back Jobs
Trump declares victory: Sprint will create 5,000 U.S. jobs
The corporations are scared of him. With good reason. He has real power now.
Of course, wielding that power and surviving in office…impeachment, “other”…could be his final challenge.
We shall see.
Soon enough.
Won’t we.
So will he.
ASG