President Trump & Public Transport

[JAzumah]

MHV9218 and I were having a very polite exchange on politics in the framework of public transportation.

If you don't want to discuss politics or if you want to simply spray paint "Orange Man Bad" on the wall, this isn't the thread for you.

However, public transport in the general scheme of things is relatively cheap to fund and has a significant impact in densely populated areas of the country. I do not think it is a difficult argument to make as to its importance and impact. We do have to get past the idea that it cannot happen in this environment because it has to at the end of the day and we should be focusing on ways to make that happen.

[MHV9218]

You have a lot of faith in people being able to remain civil – we'll see!

I'll say this, as somebody who is no fan of his: the very best thing Trump proposed – and the thing it makes me the saddest that he hasn't followed through on – is infrastructure.  There was talk of roads, bridges, investment in the nation...we do need that. And Democrats and Republicans both stand a lot to gain from a massive investment in infrastructure, not to mention that a number of things can be achieved at once if we spend thoughtfully on it. Construction union and building trades leaders have even stated their openness to "Green New Deal"-style investment if it brings opportunity for their workers. So there's a lot of potential here, and it isn't even particularly partisan in its benefit. When you bring into the equation TIF and synthetic-TIF-style policy like the Hudson Yards station, no less, you can even get a lot done without massive expense. 

Public transit and our transportation network are essential to the country's economic well-being. And dense cities with serious transit networks contribute far more to the Feds than they receive back. So it's an investment that really pays off at a number of levels. Trump promised in 2016 a $550 billion investment in infrastructure. I totally supported that. Now, my question is, where is it? He never pushed it. It clearly wasn't a priority. I look at Biden's "Build it Back Better" strategy and, beyond the silly name, I see a lot that I like. Infrastructure should be a bipartisan issue, and with this massive economic downturn, the last thing we need is austerity. Investment in transit and our transportation network will be key.

[LGA Link N Train]

I understand that this discussion branched off from VG8's thread, but shouldn't this be in the Off-Topic section of the forums?

[Cait Sith]

2 minutes ago, LaGuardia Link N Tra said:

I understand that this discussion branched off from VG8's thread, but shouldn't this be in the Off-Topic section of the forums?

It has been moved.

[JAzumah]

6 minutes ago, MHV9218 said:

I'll say this, as somebody who is no fan of his: the very best thing Trump proposed – and the thing it makes me the saddest that he hasn't followed through on – is infrastructure.  There was talk of roads, bridges, investment in the nation...we do need that. And Democrats and Republicans both stand a lot to gain from a massive investment in infrastructure, not to mention that a number of things can be achieved at once if we spend thoughtfully on it. Construction union and building trades leaders have even stated their openness to "Green New Deal"-style investment if it brings opportunity for their workers. So there's a lot of potential here, and it isn't even particularly partisan in its benefit. When you bring into the equation TIF and synthetic-TIF-style policy like the Hudson Yards station, no less, you can even get a lot done without massive expense. 

I think that a lot of small-scale infrastructure development has gone to rural areas, but I agree with the need to push infrastructure harder. Both parties like to use it as a talking point. The whole point of ending the wars was to reinvest those resources for the benefit of actual Americans as opposed to globalism. In addition, a lot of infrastructure pays for itself in the long term, so the government could have seeded massive construction of rail, airport, water, and power infrastructure. I would like to see President Trump push that harder in his second term because that would be a nice legacy to leave. In addition, most of those jobs are going to be quality, well-paying positions. I do think the MAGA base should push harder on it before someone gets the idea to start a new war.

 

10 minutes ago, MHV9218 said:

Infrastructure should be a bipartisan issue, and with this massive economic downturn, the last thing we need is austerity.

We would need to make sure that the money doesn't get stolen for routine expenses/replacement like in the 2009 stimulus. Doing something new or transformative moves the society forward.

[Deucey]

5 hours ago, MHV9218 said:

Infrastructure should be a bipartisan issue, and with this massive economic downturn, the last thing we need is austerity. Investment in transit and our transportation network will be key.

But it wasn't back in 2009 when the ARRA passed - which included infrastructure in it's text.

The GOP doesn't do infrastructure unless it's at a State level - and even then it's usually just repaving roads or creating toll roads (toll roads not grandfathered into the original interstate highway act can't receive federal funds or get federal gas tax grants).