Stressing the Positive
This was written a couple of months ago.
President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan has been inadequately covered by the press. The mainstream media is trying to tell us that there is a constant fight or friction between the White House, House Democrats, and Senate Democrats. Of all of the players in this drama, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, my home state, has been getting the most press. I’m sorry: I don’t believe that any of these bills should be covered like a horse race or a heavyweight boxing match. Instead, there needs to be more discussion about what is exactly in the bill.
So, let’s look at exactly whom this bill is designed to help—because really, it’s all of us!
Kids and families
First of all, Build Back Better is about investing in the American people. A large portion of this bill has to do with investing in children and childcare. There are billions of dollars in this bill to make childcare affordable. The bill offers universal and free preschool to three and four-year-old children. There is also a large child tax credit—in the form of a monthly check—that can help as many as 39 million households move out of poverty.
The elderly
On the other end of the spectrum, a portion of this bill was designed to keep the elderly in their homes by helping them afford home care instead of having to go into nursing homes (and often, sell off most of their assets, leaving less equity for their children and grandchildren). The bill also expands the Affordable Care Act, giving families on the lower end of the income spectrum better opportunities for decent, affordable healthcare; and it extends the earned income tax credit, offering millions of low-earning families a better way of life.
The middle class
Build Back Better invests in the middle class in other ways, such as making high-quality education affordable to the middle class—a.k.a. average Americans—and helping them afford better housing.
Facing climate change
Another section of this bill is designed to fight climate change. It includes consumer rebates and tax credits for middle-class families to be able to afford switching to clean energy. A portion of this bill encourages clean energy companies to build their products here in the United States. It also encourages them to use American steel in their products.
And not only that, the bill also gives us a much-needed investment into immigration reform. Wow, that’s a lot of good stuff!!
Build Back Better all sounds nice. These policies will help Americans in the short term and the long term. By investing in our people, and helping people get back to work, and have more money to spend, they will help the economy grow. It will create millions of jobs.
Corporate welfare reform
The bill stops large corporations from paying zero federal taxes. It will penalize them for shipping jobs overseas—and for shipping profits overseas in order to avoid paying American taxes. It will ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.
Oh, and Build Back Better is also paid for. Ignore the baloney about “inflation” and “deficit spending.” This bill is paid for by tax reform and the increased tax revenues from all those new jobs and a growing economy—and by adding enforcers to find high-income tax cheats, an effort that is expected to bring in another $500 billion in taxes avoided by the likes of the Trumps and their friends.
