Joe Biden Restores Connections with American Rural Communities

President Joe Biden has announced a multi-billion-dollar investment to literally and figuratively reconnect rural America with modern society. He aims to have hi-speed broadband access everywhere within ten years.

Universal internet is part of a far-reaching ‘physical’ infrastructure plan unveiled by Biden on Wednesday. Later this year, he also intends to present a ‘social’ infrastructure plan.

The strategy document also includes improving deteriorating roads, railways, replacing and repairing crumbling infrastructure, and building a modern electric grid, including wind turbines.

Biden’s plan allocates $621 billion for transportation, including roads, bridges, electric vehicles, and waterways, plus $100 billion to ensure broadband access across the country. He plans to have semi-government entities install large servers and networks. Another $16 billion is dedicated to port and waterway improvements.

The plan will modernize 32,000 kilometers of highways, roads, and main streets. It will repair the top ten economically critical bridges in the country. It will also fix the worst 10,000 smaller bridges and provide crucial connections to communities, according to the White House.

The plan allocates an additional $50 billion for environmental and climate resilience. Funding could also partially be used for managing agricultural resources, climate-smart technologies, and forest management. This will be part of the agricultural renewal led by USDA Secretary Joe Vilsack.

Especially Americans in rural areas and on “tribal lands” (Indian reservations) lack proper access to the rest of modern society. “Currently, one in three Americans lacks broadband access, and those who do often have connections so slow they are useless,” says Mike Stranz, vice president of the National Farmers Union.

Lobby groups representing farmers and rural businesses have a wish list extending to affordable housing and reliable power supply. Another $5 billion is earmarked for rural development.

To finance the plan, Biden proposes raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and targeting companies that shift their profits to foreign tax havens.