Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called out President-elect Donald Trump’s plan on infrastructure, labeling it a “scam” and “corporate welfare.”
In an article posted to Medium on Monday, the senator said Trump rightfully promised to improve America’s infrastructure while on the campaign trail, but the president-elect’s plan has fallen short on that promise.
“Trump would allow corporations that have stashed their profits overseas to pay just a fraction of what the companies owe in federal taxes. And then he would allow the companies to ‘invest’ in infrastructure projects in exchange for even more tax breaks,” Sanders wrote. “Trump’s plan is corporate welfare coming and going.”
Sanders added that he planned to reintroduce in January his policy calling for a $1 trillion investment over five years to rebuild America’s roads, bridges, water systems, railways, airports, levees and dams, which he unveiled last year.
“Unlike Trump’s plan, which creates new tax loopholes and is a corporate giveaway, my Rebuild America Act would be paid for by eliminating tax loopholes that allow hugely profitable multinational corporations to stash their profits in offshore tax havens around the world,” he wrote.
Trump has cited his infrastructure plan as a top policy area for his presidency, naming it as a priority in his first 100 days. But details about how the plan would actually be paid for remain unclear, though it seems hinged on providing massive tax credits to potential investors.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote in his Sunday column that given the Trump’s business record, it’s safe to assume the infrastructure plan is a scam until proven otherwise.
“If you want to build infrastructure, build infrastructure,” Krugman wrote. “It’s hard to see any reason for a roundabout, indirect method that would offer a few people extremely sweet deals, and would therefore provide both the means and the motive for large-scale corruption.”
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