November 8, 2021
Unsurprisingly, the infrastructure bill boondoggle remains stuck.
The Build Back Better Act is 2,466 pages long and aims to expand our social safety net and combat climate change. If it passes, it will be the largest government spending program ever.
But as of now it has zero Republican support, and even some Democrats oppose it. Perhaps that’s because they know what’s actually in it.
For instance, the tab would be much larger than $3.5 trillion. A government spending watchdog said the bill could top $5.5 trillion over the next decade. Thankfully, Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin won’t support such a costly endeavor.
It also calls for two years of community college for free, regardless of income. That would cost about $108 billion. The bill would fund Pell Grants too ($188 billion over 10 years). This should give dying educational institutions a reason to increase tuition.
The little ones get help too. The bill would provide free childcare and universal pre-K for kids aged 0-5 to every interested family. It would also help lower childcare expenses. The cost? About $450 billion.
The COVID-19 government relief effort included assistance to families in what is basically a cash advance of the child tax credit. It’s set to expire in 2022. The infrastructure bill seeks to extend it to 2025 and cover 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for most workers. The latter provision would cost $225 billion.
Medicare gets in on the act too. It would get to negotiate drug prices. Plus, a hotly contested provision would cover dental, hearing, and vision services. That would be nice, however, Medicare is already facing insolvency issues.
It all sounds great. But where are the roads and bridges? What does any of that social spending have to do with infrastructure?