A year ago, the US Congress passed the largest fiscal aid package in the nation’s history. It is a sign of the strength of the Kovid-19 epidemic, and Washington’s ability in a crisis, that one-third of such stimuli are imminent. The United States has reduced the economic costs of the virus, which did not include all skills.
It would not be a tragedy if President Joe Biden’s US rescue plan falls below $ 1.9 trillion. The US economy, which has shrunk compared to some other wealthy countries in the past year, is now growing. The family has money available after a year of limited access to bars, restaurants and travel – which creates concerns about rising inflation. In addition, there are equity issues. Despite some cuts on Wednesday, checks are expected to be sent to those earning up to $ 80,000 per year, while higher minimum wage prospects have weakened, much to the destruction of the Left.
Republicans are right to say that a return to normal life, desired by all, means the gradual elimination of emergency aid. But Biden has no way of predicting when the epidemic will end. Even he may be forced to intervene again if the number of cases of the disease rises towards the end of the year.
Undoubtedly, he should envision his bill as the beginning of the end, at least in intent, and not as a new standard of economic policy. However, still, the United States needs help from its federal government. In calculating the risks, withdrawing it too early is far worse than making a mistake in the opposite direction.
Apart from the economy, politics is also on the scene. The first hundred days of a new government have been attributed to an almost mystical meaning. If Biden manages to approve his package (Democrats want to see it signed by March 14), he will have some adventure to show as evidence of his initial efforts. It can also determine what the rest of your term will look like.
Two former Democratic presidents lost control of Congress in the first midterm election. In the case of Bill Clinton, for an unsuccessful attempt to reform the health care system that angered voters. In Barack Obama’s term, it was a successful but divisive effort on the same issue in which he had a majority. In any case, its internal programs are never fully recovered. If Biden’s stimulus helps without heating the economy, he can expect this trend of premature neutral Democrats to break.
The opposition is satisfied with this possibility. In March 2020, fiscal aid practically gained congressional consensus. Last Saturday, none of the Republicans voted in favor of Biden’s bill when it passed the House of Representatives.
This is despite widespread support of the population, including many conservative voters. “I come from a state where people say we need some help,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, one of the most republican states in the country. Among her Republican colleagues, she is almost alone in her receptiveness to the bill. While some of its objections may be appropriate, the party needs to ask itself if it wants to enter 2022 without taking credit for a very popular law. The mid-term democratic campaign will run more or less on its own.
Nowadays it seems almost subversive to praise American policy. Still, Washington has a good story to tell about how it handled the economic side of the crisis. Aid is timely, constructive and often supported by two main parties, where right is never an enemy of good. There is an alternate world, where none of this was true, and Americans experience avoidable suffering.
At a time when democracy is under attack by its enemies as a license for anarchy and sclerosis, the American version has shown proficiency in extreme circumstances. As if what could happen if the epidemic itself provoked the same reaction, the country can only imagine.
– Foto: AP Photo / Evan Vucci
