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Five million people marched across the country on Saturday; five million American citizens who are concerned about a variety of issues that will directly impact their lives. Trump dismissed them without a thought. What a great opportunity it would have been for him to address their concerns or at the very least, acknowledge them and assure them that he intends to be a president for all Americans, not just the minority who elected him.
Instead, he whined because the media accurately reported that very few turned out to see him inaugurated and then sent his press secretary out to lie about it.
He set the tone for the path his administration intends to follow in his first weekend in office.
On the infrastructure, as I mentioned above, I'm all for improvements but do you believe that they will put the government further in debt? I do especially since Trump is intending to lower taxes.
Also, with the improvements done in the private market, I am thinking that tolls and fees will be passed onto the consumers so that investors can reap the benefits of their investment with a potential revenue source.
I have a relative who owns his own small fleet of trucks and is a trucker and having to pay additional fees for major freeways that may be improved by private investment is a concern of his. I remember a while ago there was talk of letting private investors place tolls on certain interstate highways that aren't currently tolled. This is something that can hurt a variety of businesses.
There are ways to structure it. The Goethals Bridge being currently constructed from Elizabeth, NJ, to Staten Island, NY, is a public-private partnership in that a private developer is financing much of the construction of the new bridge and will be maintaining it for the next 35 years, but it will continue to be operated by the owner agency who will retain the toll revenue. It was also partly financed with a federal TIFIA loan, which caused some federal requirements to kick in such as Buy America (when possible) and DBE participation requirements. It is an availability payment structure.
If President Donald J. Trump were a Democrat, the libs would have no problem with him.
Any GOP inaugurated on January 20th would be in the line of fire.
It's their views, opinions, and beliefs that is the issue, as long as someone gives them free rein they are content.
If they don't get their way they scream, cry, whine, protest, destroy property or fall on the floor in a fetal position.
They cower in fear about the Russians. . . yet their attitudes and actions play right into the hands of communism by dividing our country.
Their negative attitudes and actions are imploding the Democratic party, not strengthening it.
Instead of wasting all of that nonproductive energy they should be attempting to find their candidate to run for the next POTUS election.
This stuff has been repeated ad infinitum, but it serves no purpose here. The thread idea is a positive, thoughtful one. Please stop trying to derail it.
There are ways to structure it. The Goethals Bridge being currently constructed from Elizabeth, NJ, to Staten Island, NY, is a public-private partnership in that a private developer is financing much of the construction of the new bridge and will be maintaining it for the next 35 years, but it will continue to be operated by the owner agency who will retain the toll revenue. It was also partly financed with a federal TIFIA loan, which caused some federal requirements to kick in such as Buy America (when possible) and DBE participation requirements. It is an availability payment structure.
Many places, unlike NJ don't have tolls on bridges/roadways and I believe that these plans will not be fully supported in places like where I live - Ohio for instance, we only have one toll road in our area - the turnpike 80/90 that goes to Chicago and beyond in the west and to PA and NJ in the east. The tolls in PA and NJ are exorbitant IMO. I recently drove a couple hours in PA and the toll was nearly $40. You can drive across the entire state of Ohio for about $15 in tolls.
I know of no bridges at all in my area that have a toll. None. I honestly would never pay a toll for a bridge and would go out of my way to avoid it, similar to what I did when I drove back to Ohio from PA. I took the longer, scenic, free road.
So I'm aware of the partnerships available, but my fear and many people I know who work in the Great Lakes in distribution/logistics and supply chain are worried about increased fees and loss of revenue if we have to pay tolls that are not currently being paid at all on roads/bridges in our area. Or that there will be an increase in tolls like you all have in NJ or in PA that are outrageous to those of us who have never had to deal with those sorts of rates for tolls. IMO it will steer people to alternative state routes and that will cause those roads to deteriorate and potentially make cause for states to exact the same sorts of tolls so a never ending fee just to go anywhere.
I guess it could potentially increase airfare travel rates though so that would be a plus for stockholders in those companies.
I honestly do not think there is anything Donald Trump can do to turn around the negative opinions so many of us have about him. His problems go right to his core and I do not see him changing his thinking or his integrity any time soon.
I keep hearing on this forum that we hate him because he is a Republican, or because he beat Hillary. NO, those are not the reasons we dislike and distrust Trump, it goes much deeper than that. Many of us have known him for decades, listened to his words, and watched how he conducted his life. My opinion of Donald Trump is that he is first and foremost a lying con artist, who only thinks of himself.
Maybe some people do not care that he has cheated so many other people to get ahead. I do. Maybe other people do not care that only hateful, negative words come out of his mouth. I do. And maybe other people think that he will miraculously become a different person in the last year, and suddenly start caring about the welfare and lives of regular people. I do NOT share that opinion.
Would we begin to think a little more highly of him if he did actually start doing some Presidential things aimed at helping America ? Maybe, but we will never get the chance to find out. Leopards do not change their spots, and Donald Trumps' character flaws go so deep that they will prevent him from ever changing. I think we have already begun to see that coming true, and he has only been in there less than 3 days.
I also feel that he has some mental issues that will prevent him from acting as a normal person would, but that is a whole nuther subject.
yeah well, the same goes for Hillary, I watched her ruin lives....cause people to go to prison....so....feeling is mutual on a different level
and I don't care what anyone says, Vince Foster did not kill himself, it was proven that the body was moved.
If President Donald J. Trump were a Democrat, the libs would have no problem with him.
Any GOP inaugurated on January 20th would be in the line of fire.
It's their views, opinions, and beliefs that is the issue, as long as someone gives them free rein they are content.
If they don't get their way they scream, cry, whine, protest, destroy property or fall on the floor in a fetal position.
They cower in fear about the Russians. . . yet their attitudes and actions play right into the hands of communism by dividing our country.
Their negative attitudes and actions are imploding the Democratic party, not strengthening it.
Instead of wasting all of that nonproductive energy they should be attempting to find their candidate to run for the next POTUS election.
Sorry to disappoint, but I didn't like him when I met him years ago, didn't like his TV shows and don't like him as a politician, no matter what party he would claim to be part of. He's a serial liar, with a ego the size of the Russia.
Correct, we'd like someone willing to put the country ahead of himself.
Trump is putting the country ahead of himself. "The country" you want is a liberal, leftist country. That is not going to happen under Trump.
The problem is that you do not agree with those who elected Trump. That is what our system is all about. You had 8 years of Obama (with whom I assume you agreed with on most issues), now you have at least 4 years of Trump.
Obama NEVER tried to cooperate with republicans, nor did he promote issues important to conservatives. Why? He is a leftist and no one would expect him to do so.
Trump will push his agenda (which will not be liberal and thus will infuriate libs). Does any liberal really think that Trump would do a "180" and become a lib simply because you want him to do so?
Many places, unlike NJ don't have tolls on bridges/roadways and I believe that these plans will not be fully supported in places like where I live - Ohio for instance, we only have one toll road in our area - the turnpike 80/90 that goes to Chicago and beyond in the west and to PA and NJ in the east. The tolls in PA and NJ are exorbitant IMO. I recently drove a couple hours in PA and the toll was nearly $40. You can drive across the entire state of Ohio for about $15 in tolls.
I know of no bridges at all in my area that have a toll. None. I honestly would never pay a toll for a bridge and would go out of my way to avoid it, similar to what I did when I drove back to Ohio from PA. I took the longer, scenic, free road.
So I'm aware of the partnerships available, but my fear and many people I know who work in the Great Lakes in distribution/logistics and supply chain are worried about increased fees and loss of revenue if we have to pay tolls that are not currently being paid at all on roads/bridges in our area. Or that there will be an increase in tolls like you all have in NJ or in PA that are outrageous to those of us who have never had to deal with those sorts of rates for tolls. IMO it will steer people to alternative state routes and that will cause those roads to deteriorate and potentially make cause for states to exact the same sorts of tolls so a never ending fee just to go anywhere.
I guess it could potentially increase airfare travel rates though so that would be a plus for stockholders in those companies.
No, new tolls on previously untolled roads would be very unpopular, but that was my point--the availability payment structure does not necessarily mean the revenue to pay for the concession will come from tolls. The Goethals Bridge, while a tolled facility, is NOT being paid for directly through the tolls, nor is the concessionaire sharing in the tolls revenue.
However, people do have to remember that roads are not free. They have to be paid for somehow, and that's usually through some sort of tax. In the case of the authority that owns the Goethals, they are not permitted/have no authority to receive tax revenue by law, and that's why there are tolls. Your state DOT would not have that restriction.
I was wondering what Trump can do to get those on board that are non-believers? I was thinking that fixing the water in Flint MI would be one positive step: Flint Water Crisis: Where It Stands a Year Later. On the TV today I heard some suggest to change the tax code immediately so many prospered from the change. Of course there is always the job issue and putting more Americans to work and offering them better pay.
My feeling is that Trump will do best at what he is good at - building or rebuilding. I hated what George W. Bush did not do to help people after Katrina. I used to drive truck down I-59 and then took I-12/I-10 over to Texas after Katrina. Years later I still saw the blue roof tarps and devastation. I hope (feel) that would never happen under Trump.
Right now his full cabinet has not been confirmed. So it is hard for him to get all the support that he needs. I am hoping that in his first hundred days that we get one great look at what a builder can accomplish.
So; what are other ideas for Trump to unify America?
Absolutely. He can concede his presidency to Hillary, or even Bernie.
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