PRESIDENT Joe Biden said he was open to compromise and negotiation in order to finance the $2.25 trillion initiative – as long as no one making less than $400,000 a year pays higher taxes.
PRESIDENT Joe Biden wants to resurrect America’s infrastructure. And the president made it clear Wednesday, in strikingly fiery tones, that he was open to compromise on the funding, but he has little tolerance for those who have an outdated understanding of what infrastructure entails.
“We are America,” Biden declared defiantly from the Oval Office, supporting his $2.25 trillion infrastructure and employment initiative. “We don’t just repair things for the sake of fixing them today. We build for the future. “
Biden appeared to be responding to Republican concerns that his infrastructure plan was more of a free-for-all behemoth spending bill with all kinds of Democratic demands, including expanded health coverage, fair pay and benefits for caregivers, and climate change measures. Republican lawmakers, who have already pledged to vote against it, say that only a small portion of the bill is for conventional infrastructure projects like highways, bridges, ports, and airports.
However, the 78-year-old Biden dismissed the critics as relics of a bygone era. Infrastructure in the twenty-first century, according to the president, must include high-speed internet, lead-free pipes for schools and daycare centers, and assistance for the “sandwich generation” juggling children and aging parents.
“How many of you are aware that the fountain your child drinks from at school is not fed by a lead pipe? How many of you are aware that the school where your child attends has asbestos on the walls? Isn’t that a piece of infrastructure? ” Biden screamed.
“Do you really believe that our veterans don’t deserve the most modern services, my (Republican) friends?” Biden was referring to the proposal to upgrade Veterans Administration hospitals, which would cost more than $18 billion.
Biden said that he is open to compromise and negotiation and that he would invite Republican lawmakers to the White House to hear alternative proposals. The president has said that he is open to different funding options than what he has proposed, such as raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, as long as it does not increase taxes on those making less than $400,000 a year.
According to a survey, at least 55 large companies took advantage of legal loopholes to avoid paying federal income taxes last year.
“I’m not attempting to punish anybody. But, dammit, maybe it’s because I grew up in a middle-class neighbourhood, but I’m sick of average people being taken advantage of, “said the president.
Republicans are wary of another large spending bill after Biden won passage of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief and “rescue” package without a single Republican vote, which includes direct checks to taxpayers of up to $1,400 per person.
The final cost of the infrastructure bill, known as the American Jobs Plan, is a complex calculation. With the corporate tax hike, Biden says that the investment, which is spread out over eight years, will be paid for in 15 years. That’s a far longer-term forecast than is typical in Washington, where budget outlooks range from five to ten years.
Biden also claims that the package would generate millions of jobs, citing a study from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce that found that 90% of the jobs will not require a college diploma.
According to a report released Wednesday by the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model, Biden’s proposal will raise government debt by 4.72 percent by 2050 without raising taxes, thus decreasing GDP by 0.33 percent.
The outlook changes if the tax laws are enforced along with the spending: According to Penn Wharton, government debt will rise by 1.7 percent by 2031 before falling by 6.4 percent by 2050. However, the GDP will fall by 0.8 percent.
Republicans are caught in a political bind. Infrastructure investment is a common subject. Last week, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that strong majorities support infrastructure investment, while support drops to a plurality when presented as a Biden or Democratic plan.
Republicans would lose out on the chance to amend or shrink the package or change the funding process if they actually fail to participate. Democrats may, however, include the package in another “reconciliation” bill that can not be filibustered, according to a recent decision by the Senate parliamentarian.
Democrats could then pass the bill without Republican support, but it would necessitate the support of all 50 Democratic senators, which is far from certain.
“Debate is encouraged. Compromise is an unavoidable part of life. Change is unavoidable, according to Biden.”We’ll be paying attention. We’ll listen to good ideas and negotiate in good faith… We will not sit back and do anything. It is clearly not a choice to remain silent. “
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