Vermont Business Magazine Vermont political leaders and activists are joining a national call to support #MillionsOfJobs, a coalition effort to enact a 21st Century New Deal for Jobs. They are urging Congress and the Trump Administration to ensure that any federal public infrastructure spending in Vermont invests in clean air, clean water, and rebuilding our state’s crumbling roads and bridges. This proposal includes core principles that must be true of any jobs and infrastructure plan that passes into law. Political leaders, environmentalists and union members are meeting at noon Thursday in Montpelier, on State Street Bridge over the North Branch of the Winooski River near Capitol Grounds coffee shop.
Their principles include:
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Prioritizing public investment over corporate giveaways;
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No selling off public roads and bridges to investors and foreign companies;
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Racial and gender equity in hiring, environmental and worker protections;
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Investment in 21st century jobs like wind and solar and high-speed Internet; and,
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Requiring the wealthy to pay their fair share.
#MillionsOfJobs offers a progressive vision for our future contrasted to a GOP plan that will sell off our roads to Wall Street billionaires and foreign corporations—allowing them to double tolls and put billions of our dollars in their pockets.
Vermonters deserve to see their taxes invested in projects that will benefit their families, their health, and their communities, not special interests, wealthy investors, and foreign corporations. The long-term cleanup of Lake Champlain depends on us investing in municipal wastewater treatment plants, and other infrastructure that keeps pollutants and toxics out of our waters. And, we need to invest in other public infrastructure that reduces our carbon footprint, and improves our resilience in the face of increasingly potent storms fueled by global climate change.
Background information on the 21st Century New Deal for Jobs
The Trump administration has made clear they support little direct public investment in jobs and will rely heavily on privatization and corporate giveaways:
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Trump’s proposal would result in a net negative in direct infrastructure investment. The Washington Post reports, “Despite his much-touted plans to spur significant increases in infrastructure investment, President Trump’s budget would actually cut more federal spending on such programs than it would add, according to an analysis by Senate Democrats.”
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Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao confirmed that Trump’s supposedly-trillion dollar proposal will include only $200 billion in direct federal funding – and that’s after “$206 billion in cuts to an array of infrastructure programs.”
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Last Monday, Politico reported a Fox News interview in which Chao said Trump’s plan will center on “some kind of public-private partnerships” and “maybe some sale of government assets as well." According to Bloomberg News, the Trump plan will likely include selling $40 billion of American infrastructure to Saudi Arabia.
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Trump has also pledged to roll back environmental protections and other regulations as part of his plan. A coalition of conservative advocacy groups supports weakening those rules and also urges a repeal of labor protections.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus resolution, announced Thursday, clearly differentiates Democrats from Trump. It lays out 10 principles that must be true of any jobs plan:
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Invest in creating millions of new jobs.
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Prioritize public investment over corporate giveaways and selling off public goods.
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Ensure that direct public investment provides the overwhelming majority of the funds for infrastructure improvement.
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Prioritize racial and gender equity, environmental justice, and worker protections.
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Embrace 21st century clean-energy jobs.
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Protect wages, expand Buy American provisions, encourage project labor agreements, and prioritize the needs of disadvantaged communities – both urban and rural.
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Ensure the wealthiest Americans and giant corporations who reap the greatest economic benefit from public goods pay their fair share for key investments.
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It must not be paid for at the expense of Social Security and other vital programs.
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It must not weaken or repeal existing rules and laws protecting our environment, worker safety. wages, or equity hiring practices.
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Prioritize resilient infrastructure that can withstand natural disasters and cyber or physical attacks.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus and Millions Of Jobs Coalition will urge all Democrats in the House of Representatives to co-sponsor the resolution and draw a sharp contrast with Trump.
Source: Rights & Democracy www.radvt.org