Blackstone Group CEO on removing obstacles to improve US infrastructure
Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman on President Trump's plan to improve America's infrastructure.
President Trump has long stressed the need to improve Americaâs infrastructure, describing U.S. airports as "third world." Now the administration is pushing to make changes. âInfrastructure is a super big deal and itâs liked by both Republicans and Democrats because itâs needed,â said Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman in an interview with the FOX Business Networkâs Maria Bartiromo.
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Schwarzman, chairman of President Trumpâs Strategic and Policy Forum, said speeding up the infrastructure project process is essential as the U.S. is falling behind globally. âThe US is now 16th in the world in infrastructure. And anybody who goes to our airports or drives on our roads knows is in close touch that we can do better. And if you travel abroad you see that we can really do much, much better.â
Schwarzman says itâs not just an issue of funding, but getting the government bureaucracy out of the way.
âItâs more than [red] tape, this is some other super, itâs Elmerâs glue, you just canât get stuff done. And in Canada and Germany it takes two years to approve whole projects that take us 10 to 15 years.â
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Because of the red tape, Schwarzman says just throwing money at an infrastructure problem doesnât mean it will get done.
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âSo, you have to attack infrastructure not just financially, because in a way itâs very important but itâs more the tail of the dog, if you were given a lot of money it would be hard to build something anyhow.â
âGet the Republicans and Democrats together and say, âI actually want to build something,ââ Schwarzman continued, âItâs going to involve some people giving up some control, but what you get for that, youâll get lots and lots and lots of infrastructure.â
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