We’re hearing similar assertions about the new law.
Welcome to “shovel-ready 2.0” and another swindle that has just been perpetrated on us in the name of “infrastructure.” Swindle means “to obtain by fraud or deceit.” The administration and congressional Democrats claim the bill will cost us nothing. That’s because they have used accounting gimmicks and rely on money they hope will come in through tax increases. Won’t that cost something?
For starters, says a team of Heritage analysts, “it bails out the Highway Trust Fund to the tune of $118 billion. The fund suffers from chronic deficits due to overspending. Rather than bring it into balance, senators are whipping out the national credit card, and then pretending they didn’t when it comes to keeping score.” This is throwing good money after bad, since when it comes to government programs, failure is never an excuse to spend less money.
The analysts write: “There is a laundry list of tired budget gimmicks, including the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, extending long-standing fees, and spectrum sales. Many of these gimmicks have a history of falling short of expectations.” See the last sentence in the previous paragraph.
The law was sold to the public with promises that airports, highways, and bridges will be repaired. In fact, note the Heritage analysts, the law “adds as much new spending to modes like mass transit and Amtrak as it does for highways, even though buses and rail account for only a tiny fraction of travel. Even the value of highway funding is hampered by wasteful set-asides: $2 million per year for bee-friendly landscaping, $50 million per year to combat weeds, and expensive mandates that give unionized contractors a leg up on taxpayer-friendly, non-union shops.”
If history is a guide, one or more of these set-asides benefit the special interests of members, possibly in exchange for their votes.
It’s an old joke, but true: How do you tell when a politician is lying? When his lips are moving. Unlike those who voted for this legislation, take the time to read it yourself, along with the analysis. You'll likely conclude they’ve swindled us again.
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