This article arrived today morning in my mailbox:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/briefing/boulder-colorado-biden-trillion-astrazeneca.htmlI am bored out of my mind dealing with mind-numbing SOX paperwork this morning, and decided to take some break from that to do something I enjoy: speculate on economic policy, a topic I have precisely zero formal training on.
So what is in this plan? And what's to like/dislike/hate about them?
Infrastructure:
The centerpiece of the package is a set of proposals to improve the country’s infrastructure, including money for roads, bridges, broadband access and energy-efficient houses and electric cars. Many of the infrastructure provisions are “directly related to the fight against climate change,” our colleague Jim Tankersley told us. “Administration officials essentially see those two goals — building out 21st century infrastructure and transitioning to a low-carbon future — as inseparable.”
This is a good goal. Expensive - but absolutely necessary. If you question this - someday take a trip across the Hudson river on a PATH train and peek out when it crosses the tunnel. 10% of US's GDP flows through all these well-past-design-life-and-held-together-by-duct-tape infrastructure around NYC. If you take into account infrastructure up and down the "old USA", it would be appropriate to say most of the US economy runs on expired infrastructure.
I would like Biden gang to be judicious in prioritizing these stuff based on real economic drivers and numbers thereof. If not, bad execution may kill a good idea.
EducationBiden wants to expand public education on both ends of the age spectrum. His plan is likely to make pre-K universal for both 3- and 4-year-olds, through federal funding of local programs, and would increase funding for community colleges. The ultimate goal is to move the public-education system from its current K-12 system to something that starts at age 3 and extends through two years of college.
Again - a laudable goal. Pre-K to community college on taxpayer dime is a good goal. Education generally pays off for itself. As long as it is simply an expansion of the public school system + an expansion of the existing community college programs - not much to dislike. More convoluted mechanisms that for-profit private colleges can exploit to goose their profit will kill this good idea via bad execution.
Child payments and paid leaveThis is a redistribution to the bottom 90% - after this group has been badly shafted for 40+ years since Regan's war on America. Hence this is good.
On the execution side - I would want Biden gang to work with CBO and spend the money with an aim to get the biggest long term economic "stimulus effect" rather than have lobbyists add pork everywhere. Probably a wishful thinking - I know. But a man can dream.
Health careMore important than what is rumored to be in it is what is NOT.
No public option. Can't find any references to mandated price transparency measures beyond a bit of a wishy washy "a measure to limit how much pharmaceutical companies can charge Medicare for prescription drugs, which could lead to lower prices for private insurance plans".
But then, I guess a bigger healthcare debate can become all-consuming. So if they are simply trying to achieve some quick wins for the time being then I am fine with that.
Paying for itHuh - the fun part.
Not too concerned that this will be implemented wrong. I just wouldn't want them to leave the bills in a "not paid" state. Increase revenue from the freeloading groups. Bonus points if they can do wealth tax and tie revenue generation counter-cyclically with the economic froth that seems very likely after the post-pandemic boom.
And then this bit got my seriously depressed.
Biden’s advisers are leaning toward splitting the package into two different bills, partly in the hope of securing Republican support for some of them.
This leads me to question if everyone in the Biden gang are really acting in good faith. Are they procedurally setting it up to fail? On what planet would the said "advisors" assume 10 republican senators will want to do something that will benefit all Americans??