The Latest Build Back Better Plan Won’t Improve The Economy

The Latest Build Back Better Plan Won’t Improve The Economy

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at NJ Transit Meadowlands Maintenance Complex to promote his ... [+] "Build Back Better" agenda, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Kearny, N. J. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Last Friday, the House passed the $1. 2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The Senate passed the bill over the summer so now it goes to President Biden for his signature. With the infrastructure bill done, the focus shifts to the other piece of Biden's agenda, the reconciliation bill, also known as the Build Back Better plan. Supporters of the reconciliation bill think it will help the country's economic recovery, but there is a better chance it will exacerbate inflation and slow economic growth. The current version of the reconciliation bill is full of spending unrelated to economic growth. This includes a hearing benefit for Medicare, expanding Affordable Care Act tax credits, tax credits to politically preferred energy sources, and more subsidies to Medicaid's home-based care program. Most of this spending is simply a transfer from younger taxpayers to older retirees. People under the age of 65 are the folks who start or expand businesses and invest in companies, and entrepreneurship and investment are what drive growth.