There aren’t many things California leaders and President Donald Trump agree on, but here’s one:
Infrastructure.
Roads, bridges, tunnels, rails, dams — the basics we need to live our lives and conduct our business in an interconnected society and cannot pay for individually. They’re shot. Nearly every other developed country does it better.
It’s agreed. So let’s fix that.
Don’t get stuck on what we should have been doing all along to maintain the system. That’s like having your car break down on the freeway and having the tow truck dispatchers drone on about how you should have taken it in for service more often. Valid points but pathetically unuseful.
During the campaign, Trump repeatedly said he would “transform America’s crumbling infrastructure” and make “investments in transportation, clean water, a modern and reliable electricity grid.” Amen. (And we have not said many ‘amens’ to Trump proclamations.)
On Tuesday, Senate Democrats unveiled their 10-year, trillion-dollar infrastructure plan, and House Democrats say they will have a similar proposal soon. Many House Republicans also seem on board.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield has identified infrastructure as a top priority for the first 100 days of the new Congress. California Gov. Jerry Brown (same state, opposite party) has identified $59 billion in improvements and maintenance needed for the state’s roads, highways, levees and bridges.
Even as Brown delivered a defiant State of the State speech Tuesday, he offered an olive branch to Trump on infrastructure.
“We have roads and tunnels and railroads and even a dam that the president could help us with,” Brown said, adding that “we can all work together, here in Sacramento and in Washington, as well.”
John Dewey, the 20th-century American philosopher and educator, was fond of saying, “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.”
If he’s right, then we’re halfway there on this issue. But for the rest — who will pay the costs?
Democrats’ plans are financed by “closing tax loopholes used by corporations and superwealthy individuals to offset associated costs.” Not happening in a GOP-controlled Congress. But it is a starting point for negotiation. Since infrastructure affects everyone, the costs should be shared.
Should talks occur, California is well-positioned to influence them. It has nine representatives on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
In the Bay Area, counties including Santa Clara are doing their part, taxing themselves to build new transit and catch up on maintaining and improving roads. But local improvements have to be complemented by state and national work.
Congress and President Donald Trump need to take on rebuilding America’s bones.
Everyone agrees on the need. Let’s figure out how.
Fast.
Bay Area News Group
