WASHINGTON – Democrats seem to have given up hope of getting any Republican support for the next round of Covid-19 relief, and instead of talks to cut the president’s $ 1.9 trillion proposal, they are determined to grow.
An addition to President Joe Biden’s plan comes from Dep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., The Chairman of the Forms and Means Committee and a key figure in drafting the bill, who wants to add monthly cash payments totaling $ 3,600 per year for each child under 6 years old or $ 3,000 for children 6 to 17 years old.
Democrats are eager to act boldly in aid of coronavirus, haunted by the “what ifs” of 2009, when they approved a reduced stimulus package in the wake of the financial meltdown, only to suffer for it when a slow recovery led to a blunt medium-term defeat in 2010.
Biden sought to pave the way for the new approach by arguing that loan rates are low and that now is not the time to fear red ink.
The concept of a children’s allowance has infiltrated progressive political circles for years. The Center for American Progress, a liberal group, defended this in 2015. In 2017, dozens of Democrats supported a bill called the American Family Act, which recalls the outlines of Neal’s new plan. A recent Columbia University study found that it would reduce child poverty by 42%.
Nearly 11 million children in the United States – about 1 in 7 – live in poverty, according to a center newspaper last month. It is one of the highest rates of child poverty in the developed world.
“The era of small government is over. The era of small deficits is over. We are all Keynesians now,” said Sean McElwee, who co-founded and runs the left-wing group Data For Progress.
McElwee said it is good policy and good policy for Democrats to embrace aggressive – and expensive – economic policies that resemble the New Deal.
Prominent party figures agree.
“At the end of the day, the American people want results. They are suffering,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Chairman of the Budget Committee. “And an overwhelming number of Americans know that we have to deal with the health crisis, the pandemic, the economic crisis, the education crisis. This is what they want us to do, and what we will do.”
Seth Hanlon, a senior member of the center, said the family allowance would resolve a gap in the existing Child Tax Credit, which is only partially refundable. Although the cost may be high, he argued that if Congress establishes the program for a year in a reconciliation project, “there will be a lot of political pressure to make it permanent”.
“ACA-Biden called it a ‘big fuck’ and I think it is of the same magnitude in terms of investing in children,” said Hanlon, referring to the Affordable Care Act. “This is a really historic step in the fight against poverty. “
A return to New Deal governance style
For Democrats, the aggressive approach is a radical change after decades of echoing Republicans about the risks of an increase in national debt.
The party moved away from a deficit-financed safety net after suffering overwhelming defeats for Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, when he brought the country together in defense of a smaller government vision. Bill Clinton acceded to this view in 1996, when he declared that “the era of the great government is over”, and the philosophy was carried out by the Obama White House, which rewarded the deficit reduction amid strong pressure from conservatives, to avoid be seen as a lot to the left.
Now, after decades of increasing income inequality and during a pandemic that financially devastated millions of Americans, Democrats are betting that the public’s appetite for government programs has increased.
Some, including Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., say they made a mistake in 2009 in doing very little in response to the economic crisis.
McElwee said that Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s first chief of staff, “came up with an arbitrary thing in which, if it exceeds a trillion, it is a problem. And now we are over it.”
He added: “Joe Biden understands that whether or not he has political capital a year from now will be determined solely by the fact that coronavirus aid is working and people are returning to work?”
Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion package includes $ 1,400 in direct payments and $ 400 a week in unemployment benefits, plus funds for vaccines, health benefits and rent money, food stamps and public transportation. Her advisers released surveys showing broad public support, including a recent survey by Quinnipiac that showed that 68% of American adults favor her, while 24% oppose her.
Republican lawmakers largely reject the plan, saying the president has not justified the need for so much spending. But some Republicans have softened their dogged message about cutting the safety net to reduce debt.
Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Recently joined Sanders to push for $ 2,000 in direct payments. Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, last week revealed a plan to replace the Child Tax Credit with a more generous monthly payment to parents of $ 350 for young children and $ 250 for school-age children. Romney’s plan would be funded by cutting other programs that Democrats want to preserve.
A realignment in party coalitions is fueling change. Affluent suburban people are moving away from the Republican Party and making it more dependent on white voters without a college degree – a centerpiece of the New Deal Democratic coalition – who would benefit from a larger safety net.
“American families are facing greater financial difficulties, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and marriage and birth rates are at an all-time low,” said Romney, the Republican Party’s presidential candidate in 2012. “Now it’s the time to renew our commitment to families to help them face the challenges they face in taking on the most important job any of us will ever do – raising the children of our society. “