Aug
15
Unreasonable and Non-Centrist Infrastructure Compromise
The battle over infrastructure bills and what actually, fairly constitutes “infrastructure” continues. I wrote about this back in April when the $2.25 trillion bill was in play. The current $1.1 trillion federal infrastructure bill is being sold as a reasonable, centrist compromise. Yeah… right! (sarc)
Here are a few quotes from an opinion-piece by Kay Coles James, president of The Heritage Foundation (heritage.org):
“If approved by the House, the bill would immensely expand the size and power of the federal government, waste hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars on things that aren’t federal responsibilities, and promote expensive, far-left causes like climate change and taxpayer subsidies for green energy companies.
But that’s not all.
Take that $1.1 trillion infrastructure bill and add to it a second bill that’s more than triple the cost, waste, and government expansion — a $3.5 trillion budget bill (the largest in history) that “has to” be passed along with the infrastructure bill….
The bill also includes exorbitant amounts of taxpayer-funded corporate welfare for the energy sector, including grants and loan guarantees for politically favored companies and technologies.
And the bill spends nearly $65 billion to expand broadband internet service. While improving broadband may be worthwhile, it’s not public infrastructure the way roads and bridges are. Additionally, nearly $3 billion of that would go toward “achieving digital equity,” which includes ensuring that prisoners have high-speed internet. Is providing prisoners premium broadband a higher priority than directing those billions to fix crumbling bridges?…
The budget package would be the largest tax-and-spend bill in history, and they propose paying for it by dramatically increasing taxes on businesses and investments — at the same time we are trying to spur a post-pandemic economic recovery.
You may remember that the tax cuts on businesses in 2017 led in part to the lowest unemployment rates in 50 years and higher wages for even the lowest income earners. This bill will reverse much of that….
The budget agreement would also make much of the Green New Deal climate change agenda a reality, providing huge amounts of taxpayer-funded corporate welfare to favored green industries, even though the science shows that such initiatives actually generate few environmental benefits.
The bill would also expand government subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and expand control over existing health programs, moving America that much closer to government-run health care and reducing consumer choices.
Moreover, it would give amnesty to illegal immigrants. Apparently, in Washington’s upside-down world, amnesty is now considered a budget item….
In the end, this massive two-bill package would increase costs for American families, chase jobs out of the country, add trillions to the debt, and concentrate more power in the federal government. It’s filled with false promises of new “free” benefits that are only possible through higher costs and less liberty for every American.”
In other words, it’s (still) a massive power-grab by Leftists, making more Americans more dependent on Big Brother. These bills must not pass!
