US President Donald Trump has proposed a massive USD 2 trillion infrastructure plan, along with several other measures like corporate deductibility for restaurants and entertainment facilities to stimulate the American economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump’s proposal comes days after he passed a USD 2.2 trillion stimulus package that gives USD 3,200 on an average to an American family of four and massive financial assistance to small and medium enterprises, big corporations and the country's travel and tourism industry.
“I already proposed almost 0 interest on bonds and I proposed a USD 2 trillion infrastructure plan which would not only fix our roads and highways and bridges and tunnels and other things but will also do something very good, it is called jobs,” Trump told reporters at his daily televised news briefing on Wednesday.
“I am also asking that restaurants and entertainment facilities go back to the old deductibility from corporations where corporations can buy because otherwise a lot of these restaurants are going to have a hard time reopening,” he said.
According to an official report, a record 3.3 million workers filed for jobless benefits in the week ended March 21, the most ever recorded.
According to an estimate, some 47 million people could be rendered unemployed by the crisis.
If US can spend USD 8 trillion on wars in the Middle East, Trump argued that USD 2 trillion is needed to be spent on roads, bridges and tunnels, which are in bad shape.
“What we want to do in our country you know it's time that we spend money on our country,” he said.
“That is what we are going to do. It's time that we start spending on our roads and our bridges and our schools and all of the things that we are supposed to be spending on and people are finally getting used to it and you could look at all of what we have done in the Middle East, way back in so many different places, way back in other countries to by the way and I have gone to other countries that are very rich I said I am sorry you are going to have to reimburse us for our cost,” he added.
Trump assured the people of a booming economy once the virus is defeated.
“I do think once we get rid of the virus, I think we're going to have a boom in economy. I think it's going to go up rather quickly, maybe very quickly, and maybe slowly. But it's going to go up, and it'll all come back. And I think it's actually going to come back stronger than what it was because of the stimulus,” he said.