Jonathan Chait
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Exactly.
There was a workaround actually under Rick Snyder, the Republican former governor of Michigan.
One tough nerd.
One tough nerd.
And this was the best thing he ever did.
Canada built the entire bridge.
That was the way they got around the Michigan legislature all being plied by these donations from this monopolist.
Canada paid all the costs of building the bridge, and they are going to recoup their building costs by collecting the tolls until they've repaid the money they put in, after which point the tolls will be split.
But in the meantime, the benefits of this new bridge and the faster passage time for trucks will be shared by everybody.
So this is a giant boon for the economy in Michigan that's set to open imminently.
And the Maroon family is panicked because they're losing their monopoly.
They won't have the only bridge.
They won't be able to charge as much for people to go over their overpriced super long โ
So like their whole business model is stopping competition.
So what they did was they basically met with Trump.
They gave a million-dollar donation to one of his MAGA packs.
And then Trump came up with this story about how the Canadians are ripping us off or whatever, and he's going to block the bridge.
So that's where it is right now.
So he's basically shutting it down.