Thursday, June 15, 2017

WHAT DO YOU KNOW, TRUMP LIED ... AGAIN

Yesterday President Trump tried to claim that the United States built the Golden Gate Bridge in four years, and the Hoover Dam in five. He was trying to make the point that pesky permits, local community standards, and government regulations today are stalling projects in a way that we didn't have to deal with 80-100 years ago.

This is an interesting story line, except for one thing. It's not true.

As the Washington Post points out, from concept to proposal (1921), the Golden Gate Bridge took at least 16 years to be completed.


Local communities, ferry operators (who feared the competition), the War Department, and the need to create a special tax district (to pay for the project) all contributed to delays, which prevented the actual project from starting until 1933.

So, yeah, President Trump doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to the Golden Gate Bridge. Worse, to make a non-existent point - there were few to no regulations, or obstacles on the project - Trump lied about the facts surrounding a major policy issue, again.

When it comes to the Hoover Dam, if you count the 1902 Reclamation Act - which put the Hoover Dam on our infrastructure radar - the project (originally called the Boulder Dam) took 34 years.



Stalled by a lack of funds, changing designs, construction restrictions, and the need to build supportive infrastructure projects (including a small town, Boulder City, NV), among other developments, building the Hoover Dam took far more than the five years that President Trump claimed it took.

So, yeah, President Trump doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to the Hoover Dam. Worse, to make a non-existent point - there were few to no regulations, or obstacles on the project - Trump lied about the facts surrounding a major policy issue, again.

Here's the point that we need to keep in mind. President Trump is a professional liar.

Worse, he thinks everyone in America is just as gullible or as intellectually stunted as his supporters.

- Mark

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