Quote:
Originally Posted by nonniey
Wow 2T sounds fair enough??? How did we get to the point where anyone thinks that is sane?
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The last Transportation Bill was passed in 2015 with a price tag of 305B that expired last year and we extended it this year bc we didnt have a replacement.
So it seems there needs to be some kind of new Transportation Bill.
There hasnt been a gas tax increase since 1993 and with cars being more fuel efficient, the Highway Trust Fund will be insolvent by 2022.
So it looks like we need to (1) pass a new Trans Bill, (2) pump money into it bc the gas tax supposed to fund it is nearly zero.
But I dont think anyone is arguing about the need for one .. just the amount and scope.
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By The Numbers: Biden's $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan
The $2 trillion proposal includes:
$115 billion to repair and rebuild bridges, highways and roads;
$100 billion to expand high-speed broadband across the entire country;
$100 billion to upgrade and build new schools;
and $100 billion to expand and improve power lines and spur a shift to clean energy.
Embedded within the plan are efforts to build out U.S. clean energy infrastructure that, by itself, would rank as one of the most ambitious initiatives ever by the federal government to lower the country's greenhouse gas emissions, along with efforts to address racial inequalities and advance the U.S. economy to compete with China.
The initial package includes two environmental ideas Biden regularly talked about when running for president: creating a New Deal-inspired Climate Conservation Corps to work on conservation projects and environmental justice efforts, as well as catalyzing an irreversible shift from gasoline-powered to electric vehicles.
Biden wants to
spend billions on rebates and tax incentives to encourage Americans to purchase electric vehicles, and he proposes paying for the
transition of thousands of transit and school buses from diesel to electric. At the same time,
he wants incentives for state and local governments to build electric vehicle charging stations to power those new cars and buses.
Altogether, Biden is
proposing $174 billion in spending on boosting the electric vehicle market — more than the plan would spend on highway and bridge repairs.
The proposal would also try to
speed up private investments in clean energy such as wind and solar by expanding investment and production tax credits and funding existing state and local projects that already do the same.
Biden Administration Pushes Major Expansion For Offshore Wind Energy
Biden has repeatedly said that addressing historic racial injustice is one of the top goals of his administration. Attempts to fix decades of racial inequity run through the various efforts in the infrastructure proposal. The president's plan would
replace all of the country's lead pipes and service lines — dangerous infrastructure flaws that predominantly affect communities of color such as Flint, Mich. It would spend $85 billion improving and expanding mass transportation, the main mode of transportation for many people of color.
Biden's plan even includes a $20 billion proposal to reconnect urban neighborhoods cut off, bulldozed and blighted by highways planned and built with little to no regard for the people who lived along their routes.
The pay-fors
Biden's just-passed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan relied entirely on deficit spending. This time, the administration is proposing tax hikes — with several directed at corporations.
The White House wants to raise corporate taxes to 28% — halfway between the current top corporate rate of 21% set by former President Donald Trump's 2017 tax law and the 35% rate before it was enacted. Biden's measure would also raise the global minimum tax for U.S. multinational corporations, attempting to stop the shifting of profits to tax havens.
The infrastructure proposal does not mention raising individual tax rates, including on wealthy Americans.
While the bulk of the proposal's $2 trillion in spending would come over the coming eight years, the administration says the
increased revenue would pay for all of the projects over a timespan nearly twice as long: 15 years.
https://www.npr.org/2021/03/31/98290...structure-plan
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The year is 2021.
Electric vehicles - im all for it. Its the future, its where we are going. Fossil fuels are outdated and while we have vast oil reserves, the market is volatile and too dependent on Iran and Russias of the world.
Clean energy - alternative energy sources just makes sense. Why not take serious steps towards the future of energy.
Transitioning busses from gas to electric - just making more sense. Weve put off technology long enough.
Looking at the bill, it is transformative but it is needed. If the Dems dont get this done now in their 2 year window, youre looking at god knows how long until they have another chance.
Obama got ACA.
Trump got his corporate tax cuts.
Biden hopefully gets his Transportation Bill.
*** yeah i know its a big wall of hard to read text ... but its the first article I read that did a decent breakdown ... for anyone interested in knowing the details of a plan they already made their mind up to hate ***