Timing and Details are Lacking, But Trump’s Infrastructure Program Tilts Toward Public-Private Partnerships

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: While there are a lot of uncertainties about timing – and how it meshes with tax legislation – the White House is pressing forward with its “vision” for infrastructure, which is primarily one of melding public and private forces to rebuild physical backbone of America. This is not all bad, as public-private partnerships can be well-suited to highways, airports, and also broadband infrastructure.

Trump Plans to Shift Infrastructure Funding to Cities, States and Businesses, from The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — President Trump will lay out a vision this coming week for sharply curtailing the federal government’s funding of the nation’s infrastructure and calling upon states, cities and corporations to shoulder most of the cost of rebuilding roads, bridges, railways and waterways.

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Despite the public push to promote the infrastructure package, [National Economic Council Director Gary] Cohn acknowledged that the White House did not have a detailed proposal ready to release. He said, for example, that no decision had been made on whether the infrastructure plan would ultimately be married to a tax measure. Republicans and Democrats tried such a step during the Obama administration, in a plan that would have used revenue from repatriating corporate profits parked overseas to finance projects to improve roads, bridges, waterways, broadband and other areas.

“It’s undetermined yet,” Mr. Cohn said. “It may come before. It may come during. It may come after.”

[more…]

Source: Trump Plans to Shift Infrastructure Funding to Cities, States and Business