WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden wants America to know that he is from the government and that he is here to help.
That sentiment became a worn-out punch line under Ronald Reagan and shaped the politics of both parties for four decades. Democrat Bill Clinton stated that the era of the great government was over in the 1990s, Barack Obama largely held his party in the same direction, and Republican Donald Trump campaigned under the assumption that Washington was full of idiots, outplayed by the Chinese and others.
But Biden is now betting his presidency on the idea that the government can use its $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus contingency plan not only to stop a pandemic and job crisis, but also to propel the country forward to deepen problems of poverty. address inequality and more. The massive bill could be approved by Congress on Tuesday.
“When I was elected, I said we would save the government from the fight on Twitter and get back to delivering for the American people,” Biden said after the massive bill passed by the Senate on Saturday. “To show the American people that their government can work for them.”
All told, the provisions in the 628-page bill represent one of the biggest improvements to the social safety net in decades, pushing the country into uncharted territory.
In addition to stopping the pandemic and triggering recruitments, money in the bailout package – now awaiting final approval in the House of Representatives – should start to resolve income inequality, cut child poverty in half, feed the hungry, save pensions, support public transport, reopen schools with confidence and help restore state and local government finances. And Biden is betting that the government can do all of this at the speed of a country committed to war without touching a tripwire of inflation.
“People have lost faith that the government can do good for them,” said Chuck Schumer, Senate majority leader, who spoke with Biden daily as he passed the bill through the Senate last weekend. Now that vaccines are becoming more available and other changes are taking place, “people will see the government really improve their lives – that’s what Americans used to think about it, and we’ve gotten rid of it.”
Republicans say Americans have every reason to be skeptical, calling the US bailout excessive and wasteful. They warn that the sweeping package will push public debt to uncertain new heights after $ 4 trillion in aid has already been provided.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell argues against the package as missing the moment – too big at a time when the virus is showing signs of relief and the economy is poised to “roar” back.
Rather than working down the aisle to unity, as Biden has promised, McConnell says the Democrats are “breaking through what they call” the most progressive domestic legislation in a generation, “said the White House chief of staff.
“They explained their purpose very clearly: to use this crisis as ‘a great opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision,’” says McConnell. This is the first COVID-19 bill that did not receive support from Republicans in the House or Senate.
Biden’s bet, more than any other in modern politics and economics, is full of questions.
Could federal money push economic growth above 6% for the first time since Reagan in 1984? Will the 9.5 million jobs lost come back soon? Will inflation rise? Will government debt scare voters in next year’s midterm elections? Biden has placed greatest marks on 20th-century British economist John Maynard Keynes’s theories that government can restore a dormant economy to health.
Biden’s plan relies heavily on existing health care and tax cuts, rather than new programs, but it expands that standard rate in ambitious new ways designed to reach more people 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 works in theory and the economy is fully working again within a year, that would be great. It would save a lot of hardship and suffering. “
But Burman also has reservations about the design of Biden’s package, as it provides instant payments and other benefits to almost every household in the United States, rather than spending the money on the poor and on businesses and organizations that are the hardest. affected by the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns.
“It kind of reminded me of this idea when I was in high school on helicopter money – which basically amounted to dropping money out of the blue and seeing if it made any income,” he said. “The money could have been better targeted.”
Final approval of the bill is expected this week – before extended unemployment benefits expire in mid-March. But Biden’s signing celebration will be just the beginning. His records will need to demonstrate that the money can be spent effectively and efficiently, helping those in need while giving the general public enough confidence to generate growth through hiring and spending.
Felicia Wong, CEO of the liberal Roosevelt Institute, sees parallels to the Great Depression, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt triggered an unprecedented series of government interventions that realigned American politics. Wong said she is following the process of distributing the money from the COVID-19 aid package.
“That will be as important as the scale of the package, as it will build trust,” Wong said.
Republicans are poised to portray spending as inflated and inefficient, just as they attacked the Obama-era recovery during the 2009 financial crisis.
At the same time, much of the aid is temporary, ending in a year or so, forcing Congress to review Biden’s approach ahead of the next election season.
Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.