Trump administration set to unveil $1 trillion infrastructure proposal in 2018

[Applewood]

Well, since I dared to question whether Trump could manage such a large expenditure without the usual fraud, waste and mismanagement inherent in government opations, I am once again labeled a "Trump hater."  Guess I didn't sufficiently bow down in worship and praise the king for his wisdom and perfection in all things. 

Unlike some here, I do care where my tax dollars go and how it is spent.    Maybe Trump has good intentions here, but while some of his fans don't consider him a politician, I do.  But even if I'm wrong and he is this brilliant businessman the hype says he is, he still has to deal with a corrupt political system.  Can he overcome it?  I'm just not sure. 

He cannot rely on underlings who are part of a corrupt system.  He needs to be actively involved and closely supervising this undertaking.   While Trump has promised to "drain the swamp," the swamp is still there.  Some say that in fact, he has added to it, not reduced it.  Whatever.  If Trump spends our money on what will become another colossal waste, his name is on it.  He will own it and no amount of propaganda and passing the buck or blaming someone else will change that.

[Cyber Liberty]

I don't want to see any increases in spending, much less in the trillions, until we make some significant progress in getting our obscene overspending under control.

I'm with you in this regard:  I want transfer payments to stop.  I want them to stop taking money from able-bodied people who work and giving it to able-bodied people who can work but don't.  When you consider the percentage of the Federal budget that goes to transfer payments, you can see that's the largest slice.

[Cyber Liberty]

Well, since I dared to question whether Trump could manage such a large expenditure without the usual fraud, waste and mismanagement inherent in government opations, I am once again labeled a "Trump hater."  Guess I didn't sufficiently bow down in worship and praise the king for his wisdom and perfection in all things. 

Unlike some here, I do care where my tax dollars go and how it is spent.    Maybe Trump has good intentions here, but while some of his fans don't consider him a politician, I do.  But even if I'm wrong and he is this brilliant businessman the hype says he is, he still has to deal with a corrupt political system.  Can he overcome it?  I'm just not sure. 

He cannot rely on underlings who are part of a corrupt system.  He needs to be actively involved and closely supervising this undertaking.   While Trump has promised to "drain the swamp," the swamp is still there.  Some say that in fact, he has added to it, not reduced it.  Whatever.  If Trump spends our money on what will become another colossal waste, his name is on it.  He will own it and no amount of propaganda and passing the buck or blaming someone else will change that.

I can imagine Trump dragging contractors who fall down on the job into his office and squeezing explanations out of them.  Can you imagine Obastard or Bush doing that?  Lordy, God save me if I ever had that guy chewing my ass out.

[txradioguy]

Here's a novel idea...how about passing a damn budget for the first time in almost a decade before we start talking about "infrastructure" projects.

[Sanguine]

Here's a novel idea...how about passing a damn budget for the first time in almost a decade before we start talking about "infrastructure" projects.

 

[Neverdul]

Here's a novel idea...how about passing a damn budget for the first time in almost a decade before we start talking about "infrastructure" projects.

 

[Applewood]

I can imagine Trump dragging contractors who fall down on the job into his office and squeezing explanations out of them.  Can you imagine Obastard or Bush doing that?  Lordy, God save me if I ever had that guy chewing my ass out.

Obama probably funneled some of the money his own personal coffers.

[Applewood]

Here's a novel idea...how about passing a damn budget for the first time in almost a decade before we start talking about "infrastructure" projects.

YES!

Why is it so hard to behave like businessmen?  Look at how much money you have, then decide how to spend it.  No.  These guys spend, then scramble trying to figure out how to pay for their expenditures. 

If these guys worked in the private sector, they would be fired.  Or if they owned a business, that business would be bankrupt in a few months.

I thought Trump was a successful businessman.  Why isn't he applying his business sense to government?

[Concerned]

Here's a novel idea...how about passing a damn budget for the first time in almost a decade before we start talking about "infrastructure" projects.

And while we're passing that budget, let's make it balanced too!!

[txradioguy]

YES!

Why is it so hard to behave like businessmen?  Look at how much money you have, then decide how to spend it.  No.  These guys spend, then scramble trying to figure out how to pay for their expenditures. 

If these guys worked in the private sector, they would be fired.  Or if they owned a business, that business would be bankrupt in a few months.

I thought Trump was a successful businessman.  Why isn't he applying his business sense to government?

To be fair...it's not just him...it's the House as well...where up until Obama slithered into town all spending bills were supposed to originate from.  They abdicated their job about 5 years ago.

But still...Trump has the bully pulpit...he can tell Congress to get off their pampered asses and get to work doing what they are Constitutionally mandated to do and give him "a budget that I can sign".

Congress has gotten too enamored with the CR "slush fund" started when Pelosi held the gavel and seem to be perfectly fine running from one spending "crisis" to the next.

Someone needs to shake them...hard...out of their stupidity.

[txradioguy]

And while we're passing that budget, let's make it balanced too!!

YES!

[Cripplecreek]

YES!

Why is it so hard to behave like businessmen?  Look at how much money you have, then decide how to spend it.  No.  These guys spend, then scramble trying to figure out how to pay for their expenditures. 

If these guys worked in the private sector, they would be fired.  Or if they owned a business, that business would be bankrupt in a few months.

I thought Trump was a successful businessman.  Why isn't he applying his business sense to government?

He is and therein lies the problem. He's a dishonest and immoral man at his very core who has repeatedly left investors holding an empty bag. Anybody who would invest with him at this point has to be a moron. After all a lot of idiots bought his promise to build a wall with Mexico paying for it and that has exactly zero chance of happening.

[guitar4jesus]

So where is all this money going to come from?

I hear Mexico is going to pay for it... 

[Oceander]

I can imagine Trump dragging contractors who fall down on the job into his office and squeezing explanations out of them.  Can you imagine Obastard or Bush doing that?  Lordy, God save me if I ever had that guy chewing my ass out.

Only if the television cameras are there.  And all show, no go. 

[driftdiver]

He is and therein lies the problem. He's a dishonest and immoral man at his very core who has repeatedly left investors holding an empty bag. Anybody who would invest with him at this point has to be a moron. After all a lot of idiots bought his promise to build a wall with Mexico paying for it and that has exactly zero chance of happening.

@Cripplecreek
Umm they are building the wall.

[driftdiver]

And while we're passing that budget, let's make it balanced too!!

@Concerned
Thats a great fanatasy but its never going to happen.  At least not until 1/3 of Congress is replaced with fiscally responsible people. 

A good percentage of Congress thinks deficit spending is perfectly acceptable.   Heck so does most of America considering how many live paycheck to paycheck and carry massive debt loads.

[Concerned]

@Concerned
Thats a great fanatasy but its never going to happen.  At least not until 1/3 of Congress is replaced with fiscally responsible people. 

A good percentage of Congress thinks deficit spending is perfectly acceptable.   Heck so does most of America considering how many live paycheck to paycheck and carry massive debt loads.

Perhaps you're right, but if we had a true fiscal conservative dealmaker/negotiator in the White House who actually proposed a balanced budget and then who used his bully pulpit to "encourage" Congress to pass it, I'd sure like to see what happened. 

[Applewood]

@Cripplecreek
Umm they are building the wall.

Really?  Where?  And who is paying for it?  (HINT:  It isn't Mexico)

[Applewood]

To be fair...it's not just him...it's the House as well...where up until Obama slithered into town all spending bills were supposed to originate from.  They abdicated their job about 5 years ago.

But still...Trump has the bully pulpit...he can tell Congress to get off their pampered asses and get to work doing what they are Constitutionally mandated to do and give him "a budget that I can sign".

Congress has gotten too enamored with the CR "slush fund" started when Pelosi held the gavel and seem to be perfectly fine running from one spending "crisis" to the next.

Someone needs to shake them...hard...out of their stupidity.

That someone should be Trump, if he is the tough no-nonsense businessman I keep hearing he is.

[aligncare]

Really?  Where?  And who is paying for it?  (HINT:  It isn't Mexico)

Trump’s Border Wall Prototypes Are Complete. Now What?
by ADAM EDELMAN

Oct 28, 2017 - The eight looming prototypes rising from the California desert were in keeping with President Donald Trump’s desire for a "physically imposing" barrier between the U.S. and Mexico. ... The border wall prototypes were made exactly to specification: Four from concrete and four others ...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-s-border-wall-prototypes-are-complete-now-what-n815106

BORDER AGENTS BATTER TRUMP'S WALL SAMPLES WITH JACKHAMMERS TO TEST VULNERABILITIES

BY NICOLE RODRIGUEZ ON 12/6/17 AT 2:47 PM

Border Patrol agents from Custom and Border Protection’s tactical unit this week began battering President Donald Trump’s eight border wall prototypes with jackhammers and saws to test their durability and the likelihood of a breach, officials said Wednesday.

Physical tests, expected to last 30 to 60 days, include scaling the wall with ropes and hooks and using saws, jackhammers and other tools to measure durability, Customs and Border Protection officials told Newsweek Wednesday.

http://www.newsweek.com/border-agents-batter-trumps-wall-samples-jackhammers-test-vulnerabilities-740064

[Bigun]

I hear Mexico is going to pay for it... 

Mexico will pay for it many times over once it's in place.  That's for sure!

[Applewood]

@aligncare

Prototypes aren't the wall. 

By the way, has money been allocated yet?

[Applewood]

@aligncare

Coincidentally, this Bloomberg article just popped up in my news feed:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-26/trump-s-border-wall-one-year-into-term-is-no-more-than-prototype

"Almost a year into Donald Trump’s presidency, the border wall he passionately promoted throughout his election campaign amounts to eight prototypes, no more than 30 feet long each, sitting in a desert outside San Diego."

"No funding has been appropriated by Congress to advance the project beyond the testing phase. There’s no final design. And despite Trump’s rallying cry that Mexico would pay for the barrier, that country hasn’t contributed a peso."

"The wall, an emotional centerpiece of Trump’s populist candidacy, is resurfacing as Washington turns from tax legislation to a fight over government spending for the rest of the fiscal year. A spending package Congress plans to debate in January will test whether his promise can ever be fulfilled."

...

More at the above link.

[aligncare]

@aligncare

Coincidentally, this Bloomberg article just popped up in my news feed:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-26/trump-s-border-wall-one-year-into-term-is-no-more-than-prototype

"Almost a year into Donald Trump’s presidency, the border wall he passionately promoted throughout his election campaign amounts to eight prototypes, no more than 30 feet long each, sitting in a desert outside San Diego."

"No funding has been appropriated by Congress to advance the project beyond the testing phase. There’s no final design. And despite Trump’s rallying cry that Mexico would pay for the barrier, that country hasn’t contributed a peso."

"The wall, an emotional centerpiece of Trump’s populist candidacy, is resurfacing as Washington turns from tax legislation to a fight over government spending for the rest of the fiscal year. A spending package Congress plans to debate in January will test whether his promise can ever be fulfilled."

...

More at the above link.

There are tons of these whining, negative stories that come up on google.

Trump tried getting the wall done by waving his magic wand, but he slipped on something wet. He was trying to walk across a lake at the time.

By the way, I’m not a proponent of building a wall on the southern border, I imagine moving congress to get this done will be a lot easier said than done. It may actually involve some time to complete.

Now me, I think a more cost effective way of saving the heartland from foreign invasion is to build walls around New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago to keep liberals fenced in and keep sick ideologies out.

[Applewood]

There are tons of these whining, negative stories that come up on google.

Trump tried getting the wall done by waving his magic wand, but he slipped on something wet. He was trying to walk across a lake at the time.

By the way, I’m not a proponent of building a wall on the southern border, I imagine moving congress to get this done will be a lot easier said than done. It may actually involve some time to complete.

Now me, I think a more cost effective way of saving the heartland from foreign invasion is to build walls around New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago to keep liberals fenced in and keep sick ideologies out.

I didn't see this article as whining.  For me it answered the questions I had about the wall.  Bottom line is it hasn't really been started. 

What we need is a serious review of our immigration system to see what is wrong.  Maybe suspend all immigration till we get this sorry system under control.  Personally, I think enforcing the laws already on the books would go far to fix the problem, but maybe more is needed -- like ending some ridiculous programs such as the chain.  To me, the wall is a gimmick and would not fix the underlying problems. 

And BTW -- I agree about walling in the liberals.  Keep them all in one place away from the sensible people.   Hey, they all need a safe space.  Walling them into one place would solve that problem.