WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden wants America to know that he is from the government and is here to help.
That sentiment became a well-known joke under Ronald Reagan and shaped the politics of both parties for four decades. Democrat Bill Clinton declared the end of the era of great government in the 1990s, Barack Obama largely kept his party in line and Republican Donald Trump campaigned on the premise that Washington was full of idiots, overtaken by the Chinese and others.
But Biden is now betting on his presidency with the idea that the government can use its $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan not only to stop a pandemic and job crisis, but also to propel the country to address issues. of poverty, inequality and more. The huge bill can be passed by Congress as early as Tuesday.
“When I was elected, I said we were going to take the government out of the battle over Twitter and return to deliver to the American people,” said Biden after the huge bill passed the Senate on Saturday. “To show the American people that their government can work for them.”
Together, the provisions of the 628-page bill represent one of the biggest improvements to the social safety net in decades, pushing the country into unfamiliar territory.
In addition to containing the pandemic and boosting hiring, money in the rescue package – now awaiting final approval in the House – must begin to fix income inequality, halve child poverty, feed the hungry, save pensions, support public transport, allow schools to reopen with confidence and help repair state and local government finances. And Biden is betting that the government can do all this with the speed of a nation mobilizing for war, without disturbing the inflation tripod.
“People have lost faith that the government can do good for them,” said Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, who spoke to Biden daily while forwarding the bill to the Senate last weekend. Now, as vaccines become more available and other changes happen, “people will see that the government is really making their lives better – which is how Americans used to think about it, and we have moved away from it.”
Republicans say Americans have many reasons to be skeptical, considering the American Rescue Plan excessive and wasteful. They warn that the comprehensive package will increase national debt to new precarious levels, after $ 4 trillion in aid has already been provided.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell argues that the package is missing the moment – too big at a time when the virus is showing signs of slowing down and the economy is ready to return “roaring”.
Instead of working down the corridor towards unity, as Biden promised, McConnell says Democrats are “forcing what they call ‘the most progressive domestic legislation in a generation'”, quoting the White House chief of staff.
“They explained their intention very clearly: to exploit this crisis as ‘a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision,'” says McConnell. This is the first COVID-19 bill that had zero support from Republicans in the House or Senate.
Biden’s bet, more than others on modern politics and economics, is full of questions.
Can federal money boost economic growth above 6% for the first time since Reagan in 1984? Will the 9.5 million jobs lost return quickly? Will inflation rise? Will the national debt scare voters in next year’s midterm elections? Biden placed the biggest marker in the theories of 20th century British economist John Maynard Keynes that the government can stimulate a dormant economy back to health.
Comprehensive in scope, Biden’s plan largely relies on existing health care and tax credits, rather than new programs, but expands this standard tariff in ambitious new ways that are designed to reach more people who are suffering in an unprecedented time.
“We haven’t done this before,” said Syracuse University economics professor Len Burman, co-founder of the Tax Policy Center. “If it really works the way it does in theory and the economy returns to full employment in a year, that would be incredible. This would save many difficulties and suffering. “
But Burman also has doubts about the design of the Biden package because it distributes direct payments and other benefits to almost every household in the United States, instead of directing money to the poor and to companies and organizations most affected by the pandemic and closures. subsequent ones.
“It kind of reminded me of that idea when I was in helicopter money college – which was basically throwing money out of the air and seeing if it increased revenue,” he said. “The money could have been better targeted.”
Final project approval is expected this week – before expanded unemployment benefits expire in mid-March. But the celebration of Biden’s signature will be just the beginning. Your administration will have to show that resources can be spent effectively and efficiently, helping those in need and, at the same time, giving the general public enough confidence to spur growth through hiring and spending.
Felicia Wong, CEO of the liberal Roosevelt Institute, sees parallels with the Great Depression, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt promoted an unprecedented series of government interventions that realigned US policy. Wong said he is monitoring the process by which money from the COVID-19 aid package is distributed.
“It will matter as much as the scale of the package, because it will build trust,” said Wong.
Republicans are willing to portray spending as bloated and inefficient, just as they attacked the Obama-era recovery act during the 2009 financial crisis.
At the same time, much of the aid is temporary, scheduled to expire in a year or more, leaving Congress to assess Biden’s approach before the next election season.
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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.