The New England Investor Issue 02 | Page 29

“ If the President can successfully source adequate funding without increasing the tax burden , the $ 1 trillion dollar infrastructure pledge will be a campaign promise fulfilled and would mark the beginning of a boon for infrastructure-related industries ”
bridges , airports , etc . will jumpstart the U . S . economy , creating countless jobs and stimulating growth . His plan is not new . The United States has a history of using large-scale infrastructure expenditures as a means for economic growth . Programs instituted in the early 1930 ’ s deserve some of the credit for launching the country from the Great Depression and into a period of sustained growth .
Infrastructure spending , coupled with the resulting job growth creation , is often a simple means of stimulating the economy . However , all major public projects come with a cost . In order to fund US $ 1 trillion dollars ’ worth of infrastructure expenditures , some form of tax must be levied on the citizenry of the country . The Republican-controlled U . S . Congress is expected to remain tax-averse and Trump has simultaneously vowed to cut taxes .
“ If the President can successfully source adequate funding without increasing the tax burden , the $ 1 trillion dollar infrastructure pledge will be a campaign promise fulfilled and would mark the beginning of a boon for infrastructure-related industries .” noted Michael Welch , Lead of JLL ’ s Valuation & Advisory Services business in the United States .
The campaign pledges appear to be a strong selling point for crossborder investors . JLL predicts global investment volumes will edge toward US $ 700 billion in 2017 , up from US $ 650 billion in 2016 and returning to levels last recorded in 2014 and 2015 . The numbers will be buoyed by increased institutional allocations directed toward commercial real estate as well as new sources of capital emerging from places such as China , Taiwan and Malaysia . The United States reaped much of the benefits of global capital in 2016 , with New York nearly doubling the activity of second place London and Los Angeles vaulting into third place , ahead of both Tokyo and Paris .
The story is expected to continue in 2017 . Welch notes that in the last quarter , he ’ s anecdotally seen increased interest in U . S . assets from the Middle East , China , Japan , and London , despite the fact that the U . S . dollar continues to strengthen . “ The rising dollar is still seen as a safe haven for their money , so foreign investors welcome the opportunity to invest in assets with a stronger dollar . In China specifically , they ’ re dealing with tax burdens and restrictions from their own government , so by comparison , investment into the United States seems relatively cheap ,” said Welch .

During the contentious election campaign that elected Donald Trump , a real estate mogul , President of the United States , he proposed a number of notable promises that caught the eye of both domestic and foreign investors . In his pledge to “ Make America Great Again ,” Trump vowed to spend US $ 1 trillion dollars updating and improving the aging U . S . infrastructure . Trump asserts repairs and maintenance to U . S . roadways , theinvestor . jll 27