Biden has a $1.9tr plan to fight virus, boost economy
PRESIDENT-ELECT’S PLAN IS OVER 50 PER CENT LARGER THAN THE OBAMA-ERA STIMULUS AND COMES ON TOP OF TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF AID APPROVED BY TRUMP
President-elect Joe Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion rescue package to combat the economic downturn and the Covid-19 crisis. The package includes more than $400 billion to combat the pandemic directly and safely reopen most schools within 100 days. Another $350 billion would help state and local governments bridge budget shortfalls, while the plan would also include $1,400 direct payments to individuals.
President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday proposed a $1.9 trillion rescue package to combat the economic downturn and the Covid-19 crisis, outlining the type of sweeping aid that Democrats have demanded for months.
The package includes more than $400 billion to combat the pandemic directly, including money to accelerate vaccine deployment and safely reopen most schools within 100 days.
Another $350 billion would help state and local governments bridge budget shortfalls, while the plan would also include $1,400 direct payments to individuals, more generous unemployment benefits, federally mandated paid leave for workers and large subsidies for child care.
“During this pandemic, millions of Americans, through no fault of their own, have lost the dignity and respect that comes with a job and a paycheck,” Biden said in a speech to the nation. “There is real pain overwhelming the real economy.”
He acknowledged the high price tag but said the nation could not afford to do anything less. “The very health of our nation is at stake,” Biden said, adding that it “does not come cheaply, but failure to do so will cost us dearly.”
Economic rebound wanes
The economic rebound from the pandemic recession has also reeled into reverse amid a winter surge of the virus and new waves of restrictions on economic activity in cities and states.
The Labour Department reported on Thursday that 1.15 million Americans filed new unemployment claims in the first full week of the new year, a 25 per cent increase from the previous week. The nation shed 140,000 jobs in December.
The Biden proposal is more than 50 per cent larger than the Obama-Biden stimulus, after adjusting for inflation, and it comes on top of several trillions of dollars of economic aid approved last year under Trump.
Urgent, but optimistic
Biden detailed his American Rescue Plan in a speech in Delaware, effectively kicking off his presidency and placing him in the brightest spotlight since his nomination acceptance speech last summer at the Democratic National Convention.
He struck an urgent, but optimistic tone, saying the US could overcome its current challenges.
“Out of all the peril of this moment, I want you to know I see the promise,” Biden said. “I’m as optimistic as I’ve ever been.”
The plan was lauded by progressive groups as well as the US Chamber of Commerce, which was often at odds with the Obama administration over spending and regulations. “We applaud the president-elect’s focus on vaccinations and on economic sectors and families that continue to suffer as the pandemic rages on,” the chamber said in a statement.
Republicans were largely silent on the plan, which includes the type of state and local aid that became a sticking point in last year’s stimulus negotiations.
The plan will include $1,400 direct payments to individuals, more generous unemployment benefits, federally mandated paid leave for workers and large subsidies for child care costs.
‘Millions of lives at risk’
“Millions of people putting their lives at risk are the very people now at risk of losing their jobs: police officers, firefighters, all first responders, nurses, educators,” Biden said.
“What the economy needs is a successful roll-out of the vaccines and reduction in the risks of social and economic activity,” said Aaron Sojourner, a labour economist
During this pandemic, millions of Americans, through no fault of their own, have lost the dignity and respect that comes with a job and a paycheck. There is real pain overwhelming the real economy.”
Joe Biden | President-elect
at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management who served in the White House Council of Economic Advisers under the Obama and Trump administrations. “That will go a long way toward promoting recovery. It won’t go all the way, but it will go a long way.”
Bigger plan in February
Biden plans to unveil another, larger set of spending proposals in February, and he began laying the groundwork to finance those efforts by raising taxes on corporations and the rich. He observed there is a growing divide between those few people at the very top and the rest of America. “Just since this pandemic began, the wealth of the top 1 per cent has grown by roughly $1.5 trillion since the end of last year — four times the amount for the entire bottom 50 per cent,” he said.
Biden, who has promised to get “100 million Covid vaccine shots into the arms of the American people” by his 100th day in office, has said that he intended to release nearly all available vaccine vials once he takes office.