“For centuries, rising great powers have sought to thrive and exert influence by establishing a new global framework for trade. Now, Beijing wants to control the greatest businesses, and is building the biggest infrastructure project since at least the Marshall Plan — the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).” More …
Infrastructure
Hurricane Irma: Florida’s Overdevelopment Has Created a Ticking Time Bomb
“Disaster risk expert says intense population growth and urban coastal development have created a huge danger.” More …
Private Toll Operators Salivate Over Donald Trump’s Infrastructure Plan
“Investors are hoping to seize upon the $1 trillion infrastructure plan proposed by President Donald Trump to transform the nation’s highways, bridges, and tunnels into assets they can monetize by adding tolls and other user fees. The Trump infrastructure plan is centered on the idea of ‘asset recycling,’ which refers to the process of securing new infrastructure spending by leasing the operations of existing public property to private operators.” More …
Infrastructure: Why Trump’s Public-Private Partnership Model Is Good for Wall Street but Bad for America
“Trump’s plan to rebuild America relies heavily on the use of public-private partnerships to finance infrastructure projects with private equity capital. Such financing, whether through private equity or traditional tax-exempt municipal bonds, is repaid by ordinary citizens through a combination of taxes and user fees. Private equity financing is markedly more expensive than traditional government financing, however – by as much as three to six times. Considering the scale of infrastructure development under consideration, that difference could be enormous.” More …
Why Public=Private Partnerships Don’t Work: The Many Advantages of the Public Alternative
“For decades the failures of water, energy, rail and health privatizations have made clear across the globe that those who promote privatization offer false promises. Elections have been fought and won on promises to keep public services in public hands. In sectors like health, education, water, energy and transport, community attitudes strongly support universal public Provision.” More …
Trump’s “America First“ Infrastructure Plan: Let Saudi Arabia and Blackstone Take Care of It
” …. But the third [deal struck in Saudi Arabia], which was rolled out much more quietly, is no less stunning: The Saudi kingdom joined forces with a top outside adviser to Trump to build a $40 billion war chest to privatize U.S. infrastructure. The vehicle would employ the same kind of public-private partnerships, known as P3s, the Trump administration has endorsed for its trillion dollar infrastructure plan. The deal hands over control of projects to rebuild American roads and bridges to the private sector [Blackstone] and a foreign country [Saudi Arabia]. More …