Experts Doubt Trump’s Infrastructure Plan Will Boost Economy
- 6 years ago
Experts Doubt Trump’s Infrastructure Plan Will Boost Economy
Kevin DeGood, the director of infrastructure policy at the liberal Center for American Progress think tank, said
that since the plan requires states to fund the vast majority of new projects with their own money to qualify for federal funds, “there’s a real strong case to be made that many states won’t bother.”
The administration disagrees and says that the $200 billion in federal spending, combined with quicker permitting
that allow projects to get started fast, will incentivize a wave of projects.
A new forecast from the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model predicts the plan would yield far less investment: $20 billion to $230 billion in combined public
and private infrastructure spending over the next decade, including the $200 billion federal investment.
Mr. Trump has promised that his plan, which includes $200 billion in federal spending, will leverage a total of $1.5 trillion in new
infrastructure spending over the next decade, with $1.3 trillion coming from state and local governments and the private sector.
Elaine L. Chao, the secretary of transportation, said this month
that a goal of the administration’s plan is “to use federal dollars as seed money to encourage infrastructure investment by the states, localities and the private sector.”
“We all want better infrastructure,” she said at a White House news briefing.
WASHINGTON — Independent analysts are beginning to forecast
that President Trump’s infrastructure plan will pack much less of an economic punch than the administration predicts and is unlikely to jump-start new spending on roads, bridges and other critical projects.
Kevin DeGood, the director of infrastructure policy at the liberal Center for American Progress think tank, said
that since the plan requires states to fund the vast majority of new projects with their own money to qualify for federal funds, “there’s a real strong case to be made that many states won’t bother.”
The administration disagrees and says that the $200 billion in federal spending, combined with quicker permitting
that allow projects to get started fast, will incentivize a wave of projects.
A new forecast from the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model predicts the plan would yield far less investment: $20 billion to $230 billion in combined public
and private infrastructure spending over the next decade, including the $200 billion federal investment.
Mr. Trump has promised that his plan, which includes $200 billion in federal spending, will leverage a total of $1.5 trillion in new
infrastructure spending over the next decade, with $1.3 trillion coming from state and local governments and the private sector.
Elaine L. Chao, the secretary of transportation, said this month
that a goal of the administration’s plan is “to use federal dollars as seed money to encourage infrastructure investment by the states, localities and the private sector.”
“We all want better infrastructure,” she said at a White House news briefing.
WASHINGTON — Independent analysts are beginning to forecast
that President Trump’s infrastructure plan will pack much less of an economic punch than the administration predicts and is unlikely to jump-start new spending on roads, bridges and other critical projects.