[Politics_Observer]

Boy it sure is good to have a government which is truly trying to look out for the American people. Thank you Biden!

The article mentions a few things in the plan:

• Providing paid family and medical leave.
• Helping families with child care.
• Making community college free.
• Enhancing Pell Grants.
• Investing 200 Billion dollars in universal pre-school.
• Recruiting more teachers and strengthening the educator work force.
• Providing more nutrition assistance for children.
  

A month after he laid out a roughly $2 trillion infrastructure plan aimed at helping the nation recover from the coronavirus pandemic, President Joe Biden is set to unveil an additional $1.8 trillion federal investment in education, child care and paid family leave during his first address to Congress on Wednesday.

The massive package -- which Biden is calling the American Families Plan -- is the second half of his effort to revitalize the nation and ensure a more equitable recovery. The proposal would also extend or make permanent enhancements to several key tax credits that were contained in the Democrats' $1.9 trillion rescue bill, which Biden signed into law last month.

"These are generational investments in our future, in the future of our families and the future of our kids," said a senior administration official of the latest proposal, which contains about $1 trillion in investments and $800 billion in enhanced tax credits. "They pay enormous dividends."

The President intends to finance the latest package by hiking taxes on the rich, saying he wants to reward work, not wealth. His new proposed measures would raise about $1.5 trillion over a decade.

The families plan pairs with Biden's infrastructure proposal, known as the American Jobs Plan, which calls for improving the nation's roads, bridges, broadband, railways and schools. It would also provide a boost to manufacturing and funnel $400 billion into augmenting home- and community-based care for the elderly and disabled and raising the wages of care workers. It would be paid for by hiking corporate taxes.

The tax increases contained in the two economic recovery packages would fully pay for the investments over the next 15 years, according to the White House.

While Biden's Covid relief plan moved swiftly through Congress, his ambitious infrastructure and families proposals are hitting more resistance. He has already irked some moderate Democrats with the size of the packages and the tax increases, while irritating progressive lawmakers by not including measures important to them, such as reducing prescription drug prices. Already, a powerful House Democrat has released his own alternate proposal for families.

It's unclear whether lawmakers will consider Biden's two plans together or separately -- or whether Democrats will try to push it through without Republican support, as they did the rescue bill.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/politics ... index.html

[B0ycey]

Keep shaking that money tree. Has he reversed Trumps tax reform program yet? What Interesting times we live in.

[Julian658]

Boy it sure is good to have a government which is truly trying to look out for the American people. Thank you Biden!

The article mentions a few things in the plan:

• Providing paid family and medical leave.
• Helping families with child care.
• Making community college free.
• Enhancing Pell Grants.
• Investing 200 Billion dollars in universal pre-school.
• Recruiting more teachers and strengthening the educator work force.
• Providing more nutrition assistance for children.

I hate to be negative, but this sounds like more of the same:
The ones in bold sound good, but this has been tried once before. It is known as Head Start.

In 2005, the first report about the Head Start Impact Study found that one year of Head Start improved cognitive skills, but the size of the effects was small. ... According to the 2012 HHS report on third grade follow-up, by the end of primary school there was no longer a discernible impact of Head Start.

Head Start was established in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. The goal of the program is to promote school readiness through the provision of health, educational, nutritional, and social services.

Pell Grants will drive college tuition up as we have seen in the last two decades.

I agree with Family Leave and Medical leave.

[Politics_Observer]

@B0ycey @Julian658

Well, Biden is wanting to hike taxes on the rich to pay for these programs. Whether this bill along with the infrastructure bill passes remains to be seen. Biden is also working with the EU to impose a global minimum corporate tax on corporations who try to offshore to avoid paying taxes. The EU seems willing to work with Biden on this particular issue, so that is another source of funds to pay for these programs.

[Julian658]

Keep shaking that money tree. Has he reversed Trumps tax reform program yet? What Interesting times we live in.

A few years ago this was unthinkable. When Obama spent 700 billion to fix the 2008 crisis people thought he was nuts.

[Politics_Observer]

@Julian658

But you also have to consider we have outdated infrastructure and we also have to invest in our people, especially in education to ensure we remain competitive in the global economy.

[Julian658]

@B0ycey @Julian658

Well, Biden is wanting to hike taxes on the rich to pay for these programs. Whether this bill along with the infrastructure bill passes remains to be seen. Biden is also working with the EU to impose a global minimum corporate tax on corporations who try to offshore to avoid paying taxes. The EU seems willing to work with Biden on this particular issue, so that is another source of funds to pay for these programs.

We will see. I am no economist, but it seems to me we swing back and forth like a pendulum and try the very same things that did not work in the past. Why? Because on paper they are extremely attractive.

Sometimes raising taxes causes economic paresis. But, I am hopeful. Capitalism will find a way to continue to create the wealth to support the social programs.

[B0ycey]

@B0ycey @Julian658

Well, Biden is wanting to hike taxes on the rich to pay for these programs. Whether this bill along with the infrastructure bill passes remains to be seen. Biden is also working with the EU to impose a global minimum corporate tax on corporations who try to offshore to avoid paying taxes. The EU seems willing to work with Biden on this particular issue, so that is another source of funds to pay for these programs.

There is nothing wrong with the programs PO, but it seems to me we are all willing to keep spending at the moment without any idea how to pay for all this. What is worse, most people assume there isn't going to be any fallout from mass debt. I disagree. But we will see.

And yes, I would say taxing the rich is the best place to start for paying for these programs actually. Certainly better than just shaking the money tree and crossing our fingers.

[B0ycey]

A few years ago this was unthinkable. When Obama spent 700 billion to fix the 2008 crisis people thought he was nuts.

Sure, but things are different this time. The money was already in the economy by selling loans as assets. Obama basically just moved the liability to the government away from the financial institution thats all. And perhaps that was why we didn't see any major impact in terms of inflation. This time we are creating new money and dumping it into the economy. Given the situation isn't the same, the hope we can expect the same results is wishful thinking at best. But you never know. We could get lucky.

[Julian658]

Sure, but things are different this time. The money was already in the economy by selling loans as assets. Obama basically just moved the liability to the government away from the financial institution thats all. And perhaps that was why we didn't see any major impact in terms of inflation. This time we are creating new money and dumping it into the economy. Given the situation isn't the same, the hope we can expect the same results is wishful thinking at best. But you never know. We could get lucky.

Obama was masterful and got the money back. I am not sure this money is coming back -----unless a lot of it is use for infrastructure.

[Rancid]

but it seems to me we are all willing to keep spending at the moment without any idea how to pay for all this.

Que Steve_American to talk about MMT.

[B0ycey]

Que Steve_American to talk about MMT.

The thing is I am a big MMT believer but that doesn't mean I think everything is going to be OK given I have some concerns. Sometimes I think Steve America is using MMT as an excuse to justify our high spending actually and doesn't think long term. He is retired right? Seems that is a trend.

[late]

I was tempted to start a new thread, titled 'Stuck in the middle with me'.

One of the core functions of a modern government is risk management.

We do need more social spending, and a bunch of other stuff, but not when it short changes crisis level needs.

And that's what's happening right now. Biden has allocated $100 billion for the energy grid. We need to invest 2 or 3 trillion, maybe more.

We need to work climate change, and Bidens plan could actually slow down the current glacial trend of the emissions dropping.

All this is due to politics, on both sides of the aisle. The Democrats are being Democrats, which is a distinct improvement over the Clinton era.

But the Republicans have largely stopped doing their job, when they should be working with Dems to make sure the crucial stuff gets done.

Problem is, they're batsh*t crazy now.

[Rancid]

The thing is I am a big MMT believer but that doesn't mean I think everything is going to be OK given I have some concerns. Sometimes I think Steve America is using MMT as an excuse to justify our high spending actually and doesn't think long term. He is retired right? Seems that is a trend.

Yea, I get it. Corporate profits have roared throughout all of COVID. It's time to get those fuckers to pay.