Hillary Clinton released her $275 billlion “down payment” to invest in American infrastructure and create jobs Monday.
The rest of the plan will be released in the coming weeks, upping the price tag to $500 billion.
Phase one of the infrastructure program would involve investing in transit systems, roads and bridges, ports and waterways, electric grids and energy systems as well as railways and airports, with the hope of raising wages, combatting climate change and posting global competitiveness.
“I want to use every tool we can to invest in infrastructure and build a stronger, more prosperous future. We’ve got to do this now,” Clinton said in a statement.
Clinton would invest $250 billion over the next five years and also create a $25 billion “national infrastructure bank.” The Democratic front-runner said she would “fully” pay for these expenditures through various business tax reforms, such as her plans to regulate Wall Street banks.
Clinton’s plans to increase American infrastructure come just weeks after she opposed both the construction of the KeyStone XL Pipeline and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, both of which were described as job creators by supporters.
“Hillary Clinton’s latest near $300 billion spending plan may make labor unions and the construction lobby jump for joy, but does she not understand that our nation is already $18.5 trillion in debt,” FreedomWorks senior economic contributor Stephen Moore said. “Clinton’s campaign spending promises are starting to break the bank. The only way she can pay for this massive spending binge is through either crippling tax increases on the middle class or saddling our children and grandchildren with even more crushing debt burdens.”
