Are these doctored photos, or is this common practice for politicians? I honestly don’t know. It would make sense if you were going to deal with a bunch of press you don’t necessarily know. I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt here. I don’t know that I remember GWB, Obama or Slick Willie using something like this, but back then the Republican Party wasn’t constantly trying to make ageist attacks or sow a campaign that a politician was playing without a full bag of marbles?
Few things.. first Jen Psaki and press secy's develop close relationships with the correspondents over the 4-8 years. They obviously speak every day and travel together. The president does not develop those name/face connections nearly as quickly (obviously). they usually do by the end of 8 years especially the ones that work the big outlets. I can tell you that I would need that cheat sheet for at least 4 years. I suck at names and faces. People introduce themselves and it's gone instantly. I had a dinner on Tuesday night and talked to 3 people for two hours, after being in a room with them (and others) for 8 hours. Couldn't remember two of their names.
Very good info and if I may add the President usually has a seating schematic as the reporters sit in the same seat for every press briefing and conference.
People are always coming up to my family when we're out walking the dogs and talking to us like we know them. Finally when they leave, I ask my wife, "Who the fuck was that!?!?" She usually knows who they are and is often exasperated that I don't.
I start my first day as a little league coach tomorrow. First order of business: Everybody's name is Buddy.
Haha, I did that as well as a coach. Chief works too. My wife is the same way on dog walking. I'm always like "do we know them"? She not only knows them, but knows their kids names, dogs names, ages, everything. I'm lost.
might want to stay away from that one in this day. LOL
Are these doctored photos, or is this common practice for politicians? I honestly don’t know. It would make sense if you were going to deal with a bunch of press you don’t necessarily know. I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt here. I don’t know that I remember GWB, Obama or Slick Willie using something like this, but back then the Republican Party wasn’t constantly trying to make ageist attacks or sow a campaign that a politician was playing without a full bag of marbles?
Few things.. first Jen Psaki and press secy's develop close relationships with the correspondents over the 4-8 years. They obviously speak every day and travel together. The president does not develop those name/face connections nearly as quickly (obviously). they usually do by the end of 8 years especially the ones that work the big outlets. I can tell you that I would need that cheat sheet for at least 4 years. I suck at names and faces. People introduce themselves and it's gone instantly. I had a dinner on Tuesday night and talked to 3 people for two hours, after being in a room with them (and others) for 8 hours. Couldn't remember two of their names.
Very good info and if I may add the President usually has a seating schematic as the reporters sit in the same seat for every press briefing and conference.
People are always coming up to my family when we're out walking the dogs and talking to us like we know them. Finally when they leave, I ask my wife, "Who the fuck was that!?!?" She usually knows who they are and is often exasperated that I don't.
I start my first day as a little league coach tomorrow. First order of business: Everybody's name is Buddy.
Haha, I did that as well as a coach. Chief works too. My wife is the same way on dog walking. I'm always like "do we know them"? She not only knows them, but knows their kids names, dogs names, ages, everything. I'm lost.
might want to stay away from that one in this day. LOL
Sadly, you may be right. Is Chief of Staff now a job title that is racist?
Are these doctored photos, or is this common practice for politicians? I honestly don’t know. It would make sense if you were going to deal with a bunch of press you don’t necessarily know. I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt here. I don’t know that I remember GWB, Obama or Slick Willie using something like this, but back then the Republican Party wasn’t constantly trying to make ageist attacks or sow a campaign that a politician was playing without a full bag of marbles?
Few things.. first Jen Psaki and press secy's develop close relationships with the correspondents over the 4-8 years. They obviously speak every day and travel together. The president does not develop those name/face connections nearly as quickly (obviously). they usually do by the end of 8 years especially the ones that work the big outlets. I can tell you that I would need that cheat sheet for at least 4 years. I suck at names and faces. People introduce themselves and it's gone instantly. I had a dinner on Tuesday night and talked to 3 people for two hours, after being in a room with them (and others) for 8 hours. Couldn't remember two of their names.
Very good info and if I may add the President usually has a seating schematic as the reporters sit in the same seat for every press briefing and conference.
People are always coming up to my family when we're out walking the dogs and talking to us like we know them. Finally when they leave, I ask my wife, "Who the fuck was that!?!?" She usually knows who they are and is often exasperated that I don't.
I start my first day as a little league coach tomorrow. First order of business: Everybody's name is Buddy.
Haha, I did that as well as a coach. Chief works too. My wife is the same way on dog walking. I'm always like "do we know them"? She not only knows them, but knows their kids names, dogs names, ages, everything. I'm lost.
might want to stay away from that one in this day. LOL
Sadly, you may be right. Is Chief of Staff now a job title that is racist?
haha, good point. maybe he should have appointed liz warren to avoid any future controversy.
Can anyone please do a compare and contrast of POOTWH’s and President Biden’s infrastructure plans. Thanks, I’ll appreciate it. And if you’re up for it, the same for their respective healthcare plans. Thanks again.
Can anyone please do a compare and contrast of POOTWH’s and President Biden’s infrastructure plans. Thanks, I’ll appreciate it. And if you’re up for it, the same for their respective healthcare plans. Thanks again.
Can anyone please do a compare and contrast of POOTWH’s and President Biden’s infrastructure plans. Thanks, I’ll appreciate it. And if you’re up for it, the same for their respective healthcare plans. Thanks again.
Looks like joe is officially looking into cancelling up to 50,000 in student debt. This would pretty much mean that me and thousands of other millennials could afford to maybe buy a house instead of spending all of our extra money on inflated interest rates. I’d be happy if he even did a compromise like once you pay back the original amount borrowed your loan was cancelled or something. And going forward make student loans zero interest and find a way to lower and keep costs down going forward for future generations. I don’t see how this would be anything but a huge net positive for the economy.
Sounds like the Biden administration Border Patrol is administering aid to the girls. It’s not like joe can control what bullshit the smugglers are doing anyhow. Based on everything ive read the administration is working on a plan with south and Central American countries. It’s hard to unfuck the messes of a disillusioned reality tv star that grew up spoiled rich and never had to pay a consequence in his life. To me it looks like they are working on it and like anything that gets done right, it will take time. As a person that has lukewarm at best support for Joe Biden, from where I sit he is actually trying to do something, as horrendous and inexcusable as the current situation is, unlike the last guy.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Donald Trump promised he would eliminate the nation’s debt in eight years.1 Instead, his budget estimates showed that he would actually add at least $8.3 trillion, increasing the U.S. debt to $28.5 trillion by 2025.2 However, the national debt may reach that figure much sooner. When President Trump took office in January 2017, the national debt stood at $19.9 trillion. In October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion.
That's an increase of almost 36% in less than four years.3
The total amount that President Trump contributes to the national debt will probably be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
Key Takeaways
During his campaign in 2016, President Trump promised to eliminate the national debt in eight years.
Instead, it is projected that he will add at least $8.3 trillion.
As of October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion, an increase of almost 36% since President Trump took office in 2017.
The national debt and the amount President Trump contributes to it may be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
How Has the National Debt Increased Since Trump Took Office?
At first, it seemed Trump was lowering the debt. It fell $102 billion in the first six months after Trump took office. On January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated, the debt was $19.9 trillion. On July 30, it was $19.8 trillion. But it was not because of anything he did. Instead, it was because of the federal debt ceiling.
On Sept. 8, 2017, Trump signed a bill increasing the debt ceiling.4 Later that day, the debt exceeded $20 trillion for the first time in U.S. history. On Feb. 9, 2018, Trump signed a bill suspending the debt ceiling until March 1, 2019.5 By February 2019, the total national debt was at $22 trillion. In July 2019, Trump suspended the debt ceiling until after the 2020 presidential election.6 On Oct. 1, 2020, the debt hit a new record of $27 trillion.3
Trump has overseen the fastest increase in the debt of any president—almost 36% from 2017 to 2020. Trump has not fulfilled his campaign promise to cut the debt. Instead, he's done the opposite.
Will President Trump Reduce the National Debt?
Trump promised two strategies to reduce U.S. debt before taking office:
Increase growth by 4% to 6%
Eliminate wasteful federal spending
Increase Growth
While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to grow the economy by 4% to 6% annually to increase tax revenues.78
Once in office, Trump lowered his growth estimates to between 2% and 3%.9 These more realistic projections are within the 2% to 3% healthy growth rate.10 When growth is more than that, it creates inflation. Too much money chases too few good business projects. Irrational exuberance grips investors and they could create a boom-bust cycle that ends in a recession.
President Trump had also promised to achieve between 2% and 4% growth with tax cuts. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018.11 The top individual income tax rate dropped to 37%. It doubled the standard deduction and eliminated personal exemptions. The corporate cuts are permanent, while the individual changes expire at the end of 2025.12
Trump's tax cuts won't stimulate the economy enough to make up for lost tax revenue. According to the Laffer curve, tax cuts only do that when the rates were above 50%. It worked during the Reagan administration because the highest tax rate was 70%.13
Eliminate Wasteful Federal Spending
Trump’s second strategy was to eliminate waste and redundancy in federal spending.14 He demonstrated this cost-consciousness during his campaign, such as when he used his Twitter account and rallies instead of expensive television ads.
Trump was right that there is waste in federal spending. The problem isn't finding it—both Presidents Bush and Obama did that. The problem is in cutting it.15 Each program has a constituency that lobbies Congress. Eliminating these benefits may lose voters and contributors. Congressional representatives may agree to cut spending in someone else’s district, but resist doing so in their own.
Any president must cut into the biggest programs to make a real impact on the national debt.
More than two-thirds of government spending goes to mandatory obligations made by previous Acts of Congress. For FY 2021, Social Security benefits cost $1.2 trillion, Medicare cost $722 billion, and Medicaid cost $448 billion. The interest on the debt is $378 billion.
To lower the debt, military spending must also be cut because it's such a large portion of the budget. Instead, Trump increased military spending in FY 2021 to $933 billion. That includes three components:
$636 billion base budget for the Department of Defense
$69 billion in overseas contingency operations for DoD to fight the Islamic State group
$229 billion to fund the other agencies that protect our nation, including the Department of Veterans Affairs ($105 billion), Homeland Security ($50 billion), the State Department ($44 billion), the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Department of Energy ($20 billion), and the FBI and Cybersecurity the Department of Justice ($10 billion)16
What's left of the $4.8 trillion budgeted for FY 2021 after mandatory and military spending? Only $595 billion to pay for everything else. That includes agencies that process Social Security and other benefits. It also includes the necessary functions performed by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. You'd have to eliminate it all to make a dent in the $966 billion deficit.17
You can't reduce the deficit or debt without major cuts to defense and mandated benefits programs. Cutting waste isn't enough.
Does Trump’s Business Debt Affect His Approach to U.S. Debt?
During the 2016 campaign, Trump said in an interview with CNBC that he would "borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.”18 However, sovereign debt is different from personal debt. They can't be handled the same way.
A 2016 Fortune magazine analysis revealed Trump's business was $1.11 billion in debt.19 That includes $846 million owed on five properties. These include Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, and 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York. It also includes the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. and 555 California Street in San Francisco. But the income generated by these properties easily pays their annual interest payment. In the business world, Trump's debt is reasonable.
The current U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is 136%. That's the $26.5 trillion U.S. debt as of June 2020, divided by the $19.5 trillion nominal GDP at the end of the second quarter this year.203
The World Bank compares countries based on their total debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. It considers a country to be in trouble if that ratio is greater than 77%.21
So far, the high U.S. debt-to-ratio hasn't discouraged investors. America is one of the safest economies in the world and its currency is the world's reserve currency. Even during a U.S. economic crisis, investors purchase U.S. Treasurys in a flight to safety. That's one reason why interest rates plunged to historical lows in March 2020 after the coronavirus outbreak.22 Those falling interest rates meant America's debt could increase, but interest payments remain stable.
The U.S. also has a massive fixed pension expense and health insurance costs. A business can renege on these benefits, ask for bankruptcy, and weather the resulting lawsuits. A president and Congress can't cut back those costs without losing their jobs at the next election. As such, Trump's experience in handling business debt does not transfer to managing the U.S. debt.
How the National Debt Affects You
The national debt doesn't affect you directly until it reaches the tipping point. Once the debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds 77% for an extended period of time, it slows economic growth. Every percentage point of debt above this level costs the country 0.017 percentage points in economic growth, according to a World Bank analysis.21
The first sign of trouble is when interest rates start to rise significantly. Investors need a higher return to offset the greater perceived risk. They start to doubt that the debt can be paid off.
The second sign is that the U.S. dollar loses value. You will notice that as inflation rises, imported goods will cost more. Gas and grocery prices will rise. Travel to other countries will also become much more expensive.
As interest rates and inflation rise, the cost of providing benefits and paying the interest on the debt will skyrocket. That leaves less money for other services. At that point, the government will be forced to cut services or raise taxes. That will further slow economic growth. At that point, continued deficit spending will no longer work.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Donald Trump promised he would eliminate the nation’s debt in eight years.1 Instead, his budget estimates showed that he would actually add at least $8.3 trillion, increasing the U.S. debt to $28.5 trillion by 2025.2 However, the national debt may reach that figure much sooner. When President Trump took office in January 2017, the national debt stood at $19.9 trillion. In October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion.
That's an increase of almost 36% in less than four years.3
The total amount that President Trump contributes to the national debt will probably be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
Key Takeaways
During his campaign in 2016, President Trump promised to eliminate the national debt in eight years.
Instead, it is projected that he will add at least $8.3 trillion.
As of October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion, an increase of almost 36% since President Trump took office in 2017.
The national debt and the amount President Trump contributes to it may be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
How Has the National Debt Increased Since Trump Took Office?
At first, it seemed Trump was lowering the debt. It fell $102 billion in the first six months after Trump took office. On January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated, the debt was $19.9 trillion. On July 30, it was $19.8 trillion. But it was not because of anything he did. Instead, it was because of the federal debt ceiling.
On Sept. 8, 2017, Trump signed a bill increasing the debt ceiling.4 Later that day, the debt exceeded $20 trillion for the first time in U.S. history. On Feb. 9, 2018, Trump signed a bill suspending the debt ceiling until March 1, 2019.5 By February 2019, the total national debt was at $22 trillion. In July 2019, Trump suspended the debt ceiling until after the 2020 presidential election.6 On Oct. 1, 2020, the debt hit a new record of $27 trillion.3
Trump has overseen the fastest increase in the debt of any president—almost 36% from 2017 to 2020. Trump has not fulfilled his campaign promise to cut the debt. Instead, he's done the opposite.
Will President Trump Reduce the National Debt?
Trump promised two strategies to reduce U.S. debt before taking office:
Increase growth by 4% to 6%
Eliminate wasteful federal spending
Increase Growth
While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to grow the economy by 4% to 6% annually to increase tax revenues.78
Once in office, Trump lowered his growth estimates to between 2% and 3%.9 These more realistic projections are within the 2% to 3% healthy growth rate.10 When growth is more than that, it creates inflation. Too much money chases too few good business projects. Irrational exuberance grips investors and they could create a boom-bust cycle that ends in a recession.
President Trump had also promised to achieve between 2% and 4% growth with tax cuts. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018.11 The top individual income tax rate dropped to 37%. It doubled the standard deduction and eliminated personal exemptions. The corporate cuts are permanent, while the individual changes expire at the end of 2025.12
Trump's tax cuts won't stimulate the economy enough to make up for lost tax revenue. According to the Laffer curve, tax cuts only do that when the rates were above 50%. It worked during the Reagan administration because the highest tax rate was 70%.13
Eliminate Wasteful Federal Spending
Trump’s second strategy was to eliminate waste and redundancy in federal spending.14 He demonstrated this cost-consciousness during his campaign, such as when he used his Twitter account and rallies instead of expensive television ads.
Trump was right that there is waste in federal spending. The problem isn't finding it—both Presidents Bush and Obama did that. The problem is in cutting it.15 Each program has a constituency that lobbies Congress. Eliminating these benefits may lose voters and contributors. Congressional representatives may agree to cut spending in someone else’s district, but resist doing so in their own.
Any president must cut into the biggest programs to make a real impact on the national debt.
More than two-thirds of government spending goes to mandatory obligations made by previous Acts of Congress. For FY 2021, Social Security benefits cost $1.2 trillion, Medicare cost $722 billion, and Medicaid cost $448 billion. The interest on the debt is $378 billion.
To lower the debt, military spending must also be cut because it's such a large portion of the budget. Instead, Trump increased military spending in FY 2021 to $933 billion. That includes three components:
$636 billion base budget for the Department of Defense
$69 billion in overseas contingency operations for DoD to fight the Islamic State group
$229 billion to fund the other agencies that protect our nation, including the Department of Veterans Affairs ($105 billion), Homeland Security ($50 billion), the State Department ($44 billion), the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Department of Energy ($20 billion), and the FBI and Cybersecurity the Department of Justice ($10 billion)16
What's left of the $4.8 trillion budgeted for FY 2021 after mandatory and military spending? Only $595 billion to pay for everything else. That includes agencies that process Social Security and other benefits. It also includes the necessary functions performed by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. You'd have to eliminate it all to make a dent in the $966 billion deficit.17
You can't reduce the deficit or debt without major cuts to defense and mandated benefits programs. Cutting waste isn't enough.
Does Trump’s Business Debt Affect His Approach to U.S. Debt?
During the 2016 campaign, Trump said in an interview with CNBC that he would "borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.”18 However, sovereign debt is different from personal debt. They can't be handled the same way.
A 2016 Fortune magazine analysis revealed Trump's business was $1.11 billion in debt.19 That includes $846 million owed on five properties. These include Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, and 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York. It also includes the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. and 555 California Street in San Francisco. But the income generated by these properties easily pays their annual interest payment. In the business world, Trump's debt is reasonable.
The current U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is 136%. That's the $26.5 trillion U.S. debt as of June 2020, divided by the $19.5 trillion nominal GDP at the end of the second quarter this year.203
The World Bank compares countries based on their total debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. It considers a country to be in trouble if that ratio is greater than 77%.21
So far, the high U.S. debt-to-ratio hasn't discouraged investors. America is one of the safest economies in the world and its currency is the world's reserve currency. Even during a U.S. economic crisis, investors purchase U.S. Treasurys in a flight to safety. That's one reason why interest rates plunged to historical lows in March 2020 after the coronavirus outbreak.22 Those falling interest rates meant America's debt could increase, but interest payments remain stable.
The U.S. also has a massive fixed pension expense and health insurance costs. A business can renege on these benefits, ask for bankruptcy, and weather the resulting lawsuits. A president and Congress can't cut back those costs without losing their jobs at the next election. As such, Trump's experience in handling business debt does not transfer to managing the U.S. debt.
How the National Debt Affects You
The national debt doesn't affect you directly until it reaches the tipping point. Once the debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds 77% for an extended period of time, it slows economic growth. Every percentage point of debt above this level costs the country 0.017 percentage points in economic growth, according to a World Bank analysis.21
The first sign of trouble is when interest rates start to rise significantly. Investors need a higher return to offset the greater perceived risk. They start to doubt that the debt can be paid off.
The second sign is that the U.S. dollar loses value. You will notice that as inflation rises, imported goods will cost more. Gas and grocery prices will rise. Travel to other countries will also become much more expensive.
As interest rates and inflation rise, the cost of providing benefits and paying the interest on the debt will skyrocket. That leaves less money for other services. At that point, the government will be forced to cut services or raise taxes. That will further slow economic growth. At that point, continued deficit spending will no longer work.
Why do you keep posting this, do some people actually care about the national debt?
Scio me nihil scire
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,341
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Donald Trump promised he would eliminate the nation’s debt in eight years.1 Instead, his budget estimates showed that he would actually add at least $8.3 trillion, increasing the U.S. debt to $28.5 trillion by 2025.2 However, the national debt may reach that figure much sooner. When President Trump took office in January 2017, the national debt stood at $19.9 trillion. In October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion.
That's an increase of almost 36% in less than four years.3
The total amount that President Trump contributes to the national debt will probably be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
Key Takeaways
During his campaign in 2016, President Trump promised to eliminate the national debt in eight years.
Instead, it is projected that he will add at least $8.3 trillion.
As of October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion, an increase of almost 36% since President Trump took office in 2017.
The national debt and the amount President Trump contributes to it may be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
How Has the National Debt Increased Since Trump Took Office?
At first, it seemed Trump was lowering the debt. It fell $102 billion in the first six months after Trump took office. On January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated, the debt was $19.9 trillion. On July 30, it was $19.8 trillion. But it was not because of anything he did. Instead, it was because of the federal debt ceiling.
On Sept. 8, 2017, Trump signed a bill increasing the debt ceiling.4 Later that day, the debt exceeded $20 trillion for the first time in U.S. history. On Feb. 9, 2018, Trump signed a bill suspending the debt ceiling until March 1, 2019.5 By February 2019, the total national debt was at $22 trillion. In July 2019, Trump suspended the debt ceiling until after the 2020 presidential election.6 On Oct. 1, 2020, the debt hit a new record of $27 trillion.3
Trump has overseen the fastest increase in the debt of any president—almost 36% from 2017 to 2020. Trump has not fulfilled his campaign promise to cut the debt. Instead, he's done the opposite.
Will President Trump Reduce the National Debt?
Trump promised two strategies to reduce U.S. debt before taking office:
Increase growth by 4% to 6%
Eliminate wasteful federal spending
Increase Growth
While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to grow the economy by 4% to 6% annually to increase tax revenues.78
Once in office, Trump lowered his growth estimates to between 2% and 3%.9 These more realistic projections are within the 2% to 3% healthy growth rate.10 When growth is more than that, it creates inflation. Too much money chases too few good business projects. Irrational exuberance grips investors and they could create a boom-bust cycle that ends in a recession.
President Trump had also promised to achieve between 2% and 4% growth with tax cuts. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018.11 The top individual income tax rate dropped to 37%. It doubled the standard deduction and eliminated personal exemptions. The corporate cuts are permanent, while the individual changes expire at the end of 2025.12
Trump's tax cuts won't stimulate the economy enough to make up for lost tax revenue. According to the Laffer curve, tax cuts only do that when the rates were above 50%. It worked during the Reagan administration because the highest tax rate was 70%.13
Eliminate Wasteful Federal Spending
Trump’s second strategy was to eliminate waste and redundancy in federal spending.14 He demonstrated this cost-consciousness during his campaign, such as when he used his Twitter account and rallies instead of expensive television ads.
Trump was right that there is waste in federal spending. The problem isn't finding it—both Presidents Bush and Obama did that. The problem is in cutting it.15 Each program has a constituency that lobbies Congress. Eliminating these benefits may lose voters and contributors. Congressional representatives may agree to cut spending in someone else’s district, but resist doing so in their own.
Any president must cut into the biggest programs to make a real impact on the national debt.
More than two-thirds of government spending goes to mandatory obligations made by previous Acts of Congress. For FY 2021, Social Security benefits cost $1.2 trillion, Medicare cost $722 billion, and Medicaid cost $448 billion. The interest on the debt is $378 billion.
To lower the debt, military spending must also be cut because it's such a large portion of the budget. Instead, Trump increased military spending in FY 2021 to $933 billion. That includes three components:
$636 billion base budget for the Department of Defense
$69 billion in overseas contingency operations for DoD to fight the Islamic State group
$229 billion to fund the other agencies that protect our nation, including the Department of Veterans Affairs ($105 billion), Homeland Security ($50 billion), the State Department ($44 billion), the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Department of Energy ($20 billion), and the FBI and Cybersecurity the Department of Justice ($10 billion)16
What's left of the $4.8 trillion budgeted for FY 2021 after mandatory and military spending? Only $595 billion to pay for everything else. That includes agencies that process Social Security and other benefits. It also includes the necessary functions performed by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. You'd have to eliminate it all to make a dent in the $966 billion deficit.17
You can't reduce the deficit or debt without major cuts to defense and mandated benefits programs. Cutting waste isn't enough.
Does Trump’s Business Debt Affect His Approach to U.S. Debt?
During the 2016 campaign, Trump said in an interview with CNBC that he would "borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.”18 However, sovereign debt is different from personal debt. They can't be handled the same way.
A 2016 Fortune magazine analysis revealed Trump's business was $1.11 billion in debt.19 That includes $846 million owed on five properties. These include Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, and 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York. It also includes the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. and 555 California Street in San Francisco. But the income generated by these properties easily pays their annual interest payment. In the business world, Trump's debt is reasonable.
The current U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is 136%. That's the $26.5 trillion U.S. debt as of June 2020, divided by the $19.5 trillion nominal GDP at the end of the second quarter this year.203
The World Bank compares countries based on their total debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. It considers a country to be in trouble if that ratio is greater than 77%.21
So far, the high U.S. debt-to-ratio hasn't discouraged investors. America is one of the safest economies in the world and its currency is the world's reserve currency. Even during a U.S. economic crisis, investors purchase U.S. Treasurys in a flight to safety. That's one reason why interest rates plunged to historical lows in March 2020 after the coronavirus outbreak.22 Those falling interest rates meant America's debt could increase, but interest payments remain stable.
The U.S. also has a massive fixed pension expense and health insurance costs. A business can renege on these benefits, ask for bankruptcy, and weather the resulting lawsuits. A president and Congress can't cut back those costs without losing their jobs at the next election. As such, Trump's experience in handling business debt does not transfer to managing the U.S. debt.
How the National Debt Affects You
The national debt doesn't affect you directly until it reaches the tipping point. Once the debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds 77% for an extended period of time, it slows economic growth. Every percentage point of debt above this level costs the country 0.017 percentage points in economic growth, according to a World Bank analysis.21
The first sign of trouble is when interest rates start to rise significantly. Investors need a higher return to offset the greater perceived risk. They start to doubt that the debt can be paid off.
The second sign is that the U.S. dollar loses value. You will notice that as inflation rises, imported goods will cost more. Gas and grocery prices will rise. Travel to other countries will also become much more expensive.
As interest rates and inflation rise, the cost of providing benefits and paying the interest on the debt will skyrocket. That leaves less money for other services. At that point, the government will be forced to cut services or raise taxes. That will further slow economic growth. At that point, continued deficit spending will no longer work.
Why do you keep posting this, do some people actually care about the national debt?
Sorry. I know it's annoying.
Mr. RoleModelsinblood made a few posts complaining about the size of the covid relief bill and how we are spending too much money. Yet he completely ignored all spending issues and other things over the last four years. I'm just calling him out on his bullshit hypocrisy.
Looks like joe is officially looking into cancelling up to 50,000 in student debt. This would pretty much mean that me and thousands of other millennials could afford to maybe buy a house instead of spending all of our extra money on inflated interest rates. I’d be happy if he even did a compromise like once you pay back the original amount borrowed your loan was cancelled or something. And going forward make student loans zero interest and find a way to lower and keep costs down going forward for future generations. I don’t see how this would be anything but a huge net positive for the economy.
So is there a means test or something around how long you've been out of school before the loan is cancelled, or is it just a policy concept right now?
Looks like joe is officially looking into cancelling up to 50,000 in student debt. This would pretty much mean that me and thousands of other millennials could afford to maybe buy a house instead of spending all of our extra money on inflated interest rates. I’d be happy if he even did a compromise like once you pay back the original amount borrowed your loan was cancelled or something. And going forward make student loans zero interest and find a way to lower and keep costs down going forward for future generations. I don’t see how this would be anything but a huge net positive for the economy.
So is there a means test or something around how long you've been out of school before the loan is cancelled, or is it just a policy concept right now?
Looks like at this point it’s a first step. At this point anything is better than nothing. I just see it as a positive move to fix this problem. It’s not gonna be overnight I’m sure. And I’m not holding my breath that it will be 50k. Higher Ed is a trap for most low income people these days and has been for a while. I’m open to a lot of things, but we are at a point where a couple of generations of low wealth kids took out loans to get degrees and have now paid back more than they borrowed but are still stuck paying it. I’m sure some people will compare this to mortgages or something, but with property you are usually gaining value on your investment as you pay, and can sometimes recoup through selling before you’ve paid off. With the student loan situation it’s just a number that keeps compounding and growing towards an education with no added value that didn’t set you up to get paid enough to justify the loan in the first place, which really creates a bar to creating wealth and jointing the economy as anything other than a paycheck earner.
Looks like joe is officially looking into cancelling up to 50,000 in student debt. This would pretty much mean that me and thousands of other millennials could afford to maybe buy a house instead of spending all of our extra money on inflated interest rates. I’d be happy if he even did a compromise like once you pay back the original amount borrowed your loan was cancelled or something. And going forward make student loans zero interest and find a way to lower and keep costs down going forward for future generations. I don’t see how this would be anything but a huge net positive for the economy.
So is there a means test or something around how long you've been out of school before the loan is cancelled, or is it just a policy concept right now?
Looks like at this point it’s a first step. At this point anything is better than nothing. I just see it as a positive move to fix this problem. It’s not gonna be overnight I’m sure. And I’m not holding my breath that it will be 50k. Higher Ed is a trap for most low income people these days and has been for a while. I’m open to a lot of things, but we are at a point where a couple of generations of low wealth kids took out loans to get degrees and have now paid back more than they borrowed but are still stuck paying it. I’m sure some people will compare this to mortgages or something, but with property you are usually gaining value on your investment as you pay, and can sometimes recoup through selling before you’ve paid off. With the student loan situation it’s just a number that keeps compounding and growing towards an education with no added value that didn’t set you up to get paid enough to justify the loan in the first place, which really creates a bar to creating wealth and jointing the economy as anything other than a paycheck earner.
yeah I agree with all of this, particularly the part around not actually building equity like a home, or a car to a lesser degree. At a minimum, waiving all interest paid and accrued would be great across the board, regardless of your loan amount. Make it principal only and if you've paid prin, you're done. To waive principal, I think there should be a means test, but I wouldn't die on a hill about it either.
Looks like joe is officially looking into cancelling up to 50,000 in student debt. This would pretty much mean that me and thousands of other millennials could afford to maybe buy a house instead of spending all of our extra money on inflated interest rates. I’d be happy if he even did a compromise like once you pay back the original amount borrowed your loan was cancelled or something. And going forward make student loans zero interest and find a way to lower and keep costs down going forward for future generations. I don’t see how this would be anything but a huge net positive for the economy.
So is there a means test or something around how long you've been out of school before the loan is cancelled, or is it just a policy concept right now?
Looks like at this point it’s a first step. At this point anything is better than nothing. I just see it as a positive move to fix this problem. It’s not gonna be overnight I’m sure. And I’m not holding my breath that it will be 50k. Higher Ed is a trap for most low income people these days and has been for a while. I’m open to a lot of things, but we are at a point where a couple of generations of low wealth kids took out loans to get degrees and have now paid back more than they borrowed but are still stuck paying it. I’m sure some people will compare this to mortgages or something, but with property you are usually gaining value on your investment as you pay, and can sometimes recoup through selling before you’ve paid off. With the student loan situation it’s just a number that keeps compounding and growing towards an education with no added value that didn’t set you up to get paid enough to justify the loan in the first place, which really creates a bar to creating wealth and jointing the economy as anything other than a paycheck earner.
yeah I agree with all of this, particularly the part around not actually building equity like a home, or a car to a lesser degree. At a minimum, waiving all interest paid and accrued would be great across the board, regardless of your loan amount. Make it principal only and if you've paid prin, you're done. To waive principal, I think there should be a means test, but I wouldn't die on a hill about it either.
It’s definitely a complex problem and will take a lot of work to get right. One thing’s for certain no matter what he does no one will be happy, because it’s one of those sacred American topics for some reason. I’m just glad he appears to be making an effort, because I was worried it wouldn’t be a priority item. Once the loan crisis is solved or even during it would be nice to see funding public schools in all income areas a priority and doing something about fixing the costs for state institutions and community colleges so more generations don’t get caught up in the same trap.
Scio me nihil scire
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
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mickeyrat
up my ass, like Chadwick was up his Posts: 35,938
Biden boosted by Senate rules as GOP bucks infrastructure
By LISA MASCARO and JOSH BOAK
Today
WASHINGTON (AP) — With an appeal to think big, President Joe Biden is promoting his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan directly to Americans, summoning public support to push past the Republicans lining up against the massive effort they sum up as big taxes, big spending and big government.
Republicans in Congress are making the politically brazen bet that it’s more advantageous to oppose the costly American Jobs Plan, saddling the Democrats with ownership of the sweeping proposal and the corporate tax hike Biden says is needed to pay for it. He wants the investments in roads, schools, broadband and clean energy approved by summer.
On Monday, Biden received a boost from an unexpected source. The Senate parliamentarian greenlighted a strategy that would allow Democrats in the evenly split 50-50 chamber to rely on a 51-vote threshold to advance some bills, rather than the typical 60 votes typically needed. The so-called budget reconciliation rules can now be used more often than expected — giving Democrats a fresh new path around the GOP blockade.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's spokesman welcomed the parliamentarian's opinion as “an important step forward.” Spokesman Justin Goodman said no decisions have been made on the process ahead, but “this key pathway is available to Democrats if needed.”
The prospects for a massive infrastructure investment, once a bipartisan source of unity on Capitol Hill, have cracked and groaned under the weight of political polarization. Where Biden sees an urgency in going big, Republicans want a narrow plan that focuses on roads and bridges, and warn that any corporate tax increase would crush economic growth.
“They know we need it,” Biden said of the Republicans as he returned to Washington on Monday. “Everybody around the world is investing billions and billions of dollars in infrastructure, and we’re going to do it here.”
The standoff almost ensures a months-long slog as Congress hunkers down to begin drafting legislation and the White House keeps the door open to working across the aisle with Republicans, hoping that continued public attention will drum up support.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell declared plainly on Monday that Biden’s plan is “something we’re not going to do.”
Speaking to reporters in Kentucky, McConnell said Republicans could support a “much more modest” approach, and one that doesn’t rely on corporate tax hikes to pay for it.
A core dividing line is Biden's effort to pay for infrastructure by undoing Donald Trump's tax break for corporations, a signature achievement of the Trump White House and its partners in Congress.
The 2017 GOP tax bill, which all the Republicans voted for, slashed the corporate rate from 35% to 21%. It was supposed to usher in a new era of American investment and job creation, yet growth never came close to the promised levels and the economy fell into a recession because of the pandemic.
Biden proposes raising the rate to 28% and instituting a global minimum rate to dissuade companies from relocating in lower-tax havens. Democratic senators led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, unveiled their own framework for an international taxation overhaul Monday that could provide an opening to Biden's approach.
“We desperately need reform,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., one of those involved in the effort.
Shepherding Biden's proposal through Congress remains a work in progress, particularly in the evenly-divided 50-50 Senate, where Democrats have the majority because the vice president from their party, Kamala Harris, can cast a tie-breaking vote.
But a single senator can break ranks to influence the size and shape of the package. On Monday, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., indicated he would prefer a corporate tax rate at 25%, lower than what Biden is proposing.
Seizing on Democratic divisions, Republicans have signaled zero interest in undoing the tax cuts they approved with Trump, and instead prefer a smaller infrastructure package paid for by user fees on drivers or other public-private partnerships that share the costs.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of Senate GOP leadership, said Sunday a smaller infrastructure package of about $615 billion, or 30% of what Biden is proposing, could draw bipartisan support.
Administration officials have encouraged Republicans to talk more fully about what they dislike and would do instead, under the opinion that a battle of ideas will only help Biden gain support with voters.
The president has already met twice with bipartisan groups of lawmakers in the Oval Office, and members of Biden’s Cabinet leading the charge on infrastructure have also have placed dozens of calls to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Yet the White House has a fundamental disagreement with Republicans on the definition of infrastructure, such that any outreach is unlikely to yield an agreement.
"Infrastructure is not just the roads we get a horse and buggy across,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a Monday briefing. “Infrastructure is about broadband. It’s about replacing lead pipes so people have water. It’s about rebuilding our schools.”
That leaves Biden and congressional Republicans on a collision course, the outcome of which could define the parties and his presidency.
The GOP strategy is reminiscent of its Obama-era stance more than a decade ago, when the Republicans opposed the 2009 rescue after the economic crisis, framing it as government overreach that piled on debt — an argument they used in 2010 to win back control of Congress.
But it’s not at all certain the GOP playbook that worked more than a decade ago will produce the same political gains this time. Biden is banking on polling that suggests his infrastructure package is popular among voters of both parties, making it easier to bypass any GOP blockade on Capitol Hill.
Touring a water treatment plant Monday in California, Harris said access to clean water was about a broader issue of fairness.
With the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, Harris noted that families in Iowa and parts of the Midwest needed federal help to upgrade the wells on their properties, while parts of California needed reliable access to fight wildfires.
“We must understand the equities and inequities of distribution and access to clean water, especially clean drinking water,” Harris said.
___
Associated Press writer Alexandra Jaffe contributed to this report.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Weird that the GOP doesn't want to use Corporate tax hikes to pay for infrastructure when they're busy canceling corporations they don't want to interfere with their agenda. Shut up and dribble, unless you want to write me a check to support my re-election.
The smartest man Joe knows... BTW, I realize there are a whole lot of left leaning folks here and that's fine, but if you watch this video below and do not laugh, you are too far gone. Wake up and realize our WHOLE system is fucked.
The smartest man Joe knows... BTW, I realize there are a whole lot of left leaning folks here and that's fine, but if you watch this video below and do not laugh, you are too far gone. Wake up and realize our WHOLE system is fucked.
I can't imagine anything more pathetic than talking about Hunter Biden right now.
Really? Couldn't imagine talking about the guy who had all the press on Easter Sunday right now. An interview that was conducted in the past couple of days.
I also shouldn't be surprised, first two responses are those who are too far gone. WAKE UP PEOPLE!
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,341
I can't imagine anything more pathetic than talking about Hunter Biden right now.
Really? Couldn't imagine talking about the guy who had all the press on Easter Sunday right now. An interview that was conducted in the past couple of days.
I also shouldn't be surprised, first two responses are those who are too far gone. WAKE UP PEOPLE!
What was the point of your post? What is so egregious about a father loving his son despite his problems with addiction?
I guess addiction issues are only lip service for republicans?
Comments
www.headstonesband.com
www.headstonesband.com
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
As an independent in the middle, that's music to my ears. Keep it up, Joe!
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
https://www.thebalance.com/trump-plans-to-reduce-national-debt-4114401
President Trump's Impact on the National Debt
The national debt has increased by almost 36% since Trump took office
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Donald Trump promised he would eliminate the nation’s debt in eight years.1 Instead, his budget estimates showed that he would actually add at least $8.3 trillion, increasing the U.S. debt to $28.5 trillion by 2025.2 However, the national debt may reach that figure much sooner. When President Trump took office in January 2017, the national debt stood at $19.9 trillion. In October 2020, the national debt reached a new high of $27 trillion.
The total amount that President Trump contributes to the national debt will probably be higher once the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is realized.
Key Takeaways
How Has the National Debt Increased Since Trump Took Office?
At first, it seemed Trump was lowering the debt. It fell $102 billion in the first six months after Trump took office. On January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated, the debt was $19.9 trillion. On July 30, it was $19.8 trillion. But it was not because of anything he did. Instead, it was because of the federal debt ceiling.
On Sept. 8, 2017, Trump signed a bill increasing the debt ceiling.4 Later that day, the debt exceeded $20 trillion for the first time in U.S. history. On Feb. 9, 2018, Trump signed a bill suspending the debt ceiling until March 1, 2019.5 By February 2019, the total national debt was at $22 trillion. In July 2019, Trump suspended the debt ceiling until after the 2020 presidential election.6 On Oct. 1, 2020, the debt hit a new record of $27 trillion.3
Trump has overseen the fastest increase in the debt of any president—almost 36% from 2017 to 2020. Trump has not fulfilled his campaign promise to cut the debt. Instead, he's done the opposite.
Will President Trump Reduce the National Debt?
Trump promised two strategies to reduce U.S. debt before taking office:
Increase Growth
While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to grow the economy by 4% to 6% annually to increase tax revenues.78
Once in office, Trump lowered his growth estimates to between 2% and 3%.9 These more realistic projections are within the 2% to 3% healthy growth rate.10 When growth is more than that, it creates inflation. Too much money chases too few good business projects. Irrational exuberance grips investors and they could create a boom-bust cycle that ends in a recession.
President Trump had also promised to achieve between 2% and 4% growth with tax cuts. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018.11 The top individual income tax rate dropped to 37%. It doubled the standard deduction and eliminated personal exemptions. The corporate cuts are permanent, while the individual changes expire at the end of 2025.12
Trump's tax cuts won't stimulate the economy enough to make up for lost tax revenue. According to the Laffer curve, tax cuts only do that when the rates were above 50%. It worked during the Reagan administration because the highest tax rate was 70%.13
Eliminate Wasteful Federal Spending
Trump’s second strategy was to eliminate waste and redundancy in federal spending.14 He demonstrated this cost-consciousness during his campaign, such as when he used his Twitter account and rallies instead of expensive television ads.
Trump was right that there is waste in federal spending. The problem isn't finding it—both Presidents Bush and Obama did that. The problem is in cutting it.15 Each program has a constituency that lobbies Congress. Eliminating these benefits may lose voters and contributors. Congressional representatives may agree to cut spending in someone else’s district, but resist doing so in their own.
Any president must cut into the biggest programs to make a real impact on the national debt.
More than two-thirds of government spending goes to mandatory obligations made by previous Acts of Congress. For FY 2021, Social Security benefits cost $1.2 trillion, Medicare cost $722 billion, and Medicaid cost $448 billion. The interest on the debt is $378 billion.
To lower the debt, military spending must also be cut because it's such a large portion of the budget. Instead, Trump increased military spending in FY 2021 to $933 billion. That includes three components:
What's left of the $4.8 trillion budgeted for FY 2021 after mandatory and military spending? Only $595 billion to pay for everything else. That includes agencies that process Social Security and other benefits. It also includes the necessary functions performed by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. You'd have to eliminate it all to make a dent in the $966 billion deficit.17
You can't reduce the deficit or debt without major cuts to defense and mandated benefits programs. Cutting waste isn't enough.
Does Trump’s Business Debt Affect His Approach to U.S. Debt?
During the 2016 campaign, Trump said in an interview with CNBC that he would "borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.”18 However, sovereign debt is different from personal debt. They can't be handled the same way.
A 2016 Fortune magazine analysis revealed Trump's business was $1.11 billion in debt.19 That includes $846 million owed on five properties. These include Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, and 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York. It also includes the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. and 555 California Street in San Francisco. But the income generated by these properties easily pays their annual interest payment. In the business world, Trump's debt is reasonable.
The current U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is 136%. That's the $26.5 trillion U.S. debt as of June 2020, divided by the $19.5 trillion nominal GDP at the end of the second quarter this year.203
The World Bank compares countries based on their total debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. It considers a country to be in trouble if that ratio is greater than 77%.21
So far, the high U.S. debt-to-ratio hasn't discouraged investors. America is one of the safest economies in the world and its currency is the world's reserve currency. Even during a U.S. economic crisis, investors purchase U.S. Treasurys in a flight to safety. That's one reason why interest rates plunged to historical lows in March 2020 after the coronavirus outbreak.22 Those falling interest rates meant America's debt could increase, but interest payments remain stable.
The U.S. also has a massive fixed pension expense and health insurance costs. A business can renege on these benefits, ask for bankruptcy, and weather the resulting lawsuits. A president and Congress can't cut back those costs without losing their jobs at the next election. As such, Trump's experience in handling business debt does not transfer to managing the U.S. debt.
How the National Debt Affects You
The national debt doesn't affect you directly until it reaches the tipping point. Once the debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds 77% for an extended period of time, it slows economic growth. Every percentage point of debt above this level costs the country 0.017 percentage points in economic growth, according to a World Bank analysis.21
The first sign of trouble is when interest rates start to rise significantly. Investors need a higher return to offset the greater perceived risk. They start to doubt that the debt can be paid off.
The second sign is that the U.S. dollar loses value. You will notice that as inflation rises, imported goods will cost more. Gas and grocery prices will rise. Travel to other countries will also become much more expensive.
As interest rates and inflation rise, the cost of providing benefits and paying the interest on the debt will skyrocket. That leaves less money for other services. At that point, the government will be forced to cut services or raise taxes. That will further slow economic growth. At that point, continued deficit spending will no longer work.
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
Mr. RoleModelsinblood made a few posts complaining about the size of the covid relief bill and how we are spending too much money. Yet he completely ignored all spending issues and other things over the last four years. I'm just calling him out on his bullshit hypocrisy.
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
WASHINGTON (AP) — With an appeal to think big, President Joe Biden is promoting his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan directly to Americans, summoning public support to push past the Republicans lining up against the massive effort they sum up as big taxes, big spending and big government.
Republicans in Congress are making the politically brazen bet that it’s more advantageous to oppose the costly American Jobs Plan, saddling the Democrats with ownership of the sweeping proposal and the corporate tax hike Biden says is needed to pay for it. He wants the investments in roads, schools, broadband and clean energy approved by summer.
On Monday, Biden received a boost from an unexpected source. The Senate parliamentarian greenlighted a strategy that would allow Democrats in the evenly split 50-50 chamber to rely on a 51-vote threshold to advance some bills, rather than the typical 60 votes typically needed. The so-called budget reconciliation rules can now be used more often than expected — giving Democrats a fresh new path around the GOP blockade.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's spokesman welcomed the parliamentarian's opinion as “an important step forward.” Spokesman Justin Goodman said no decisions have been made on the process ahead, but “this key pathway is available to Democrats if needed.”
The prospects for a massive infrastructure investment, once a bipartisan source of unity on Capitol Hill, have cracked and groaned under the weight of political polarization. Where Biden sees an urgency in going big, Republicans want a narrow plan that focuses on roads and bridges, and warn that any corporate tax increase would crush economic growth.
“They know we need it,” Biden said of the Republicans as he returned to Washington on Monday. “Everybody around the world is investing billions and billions of dollars in infrastructure, and we’re going to do it here.”
The standoff almost ensures a months-long slog as Congress hunkers down to begin drafting legislation and the White House keeps the door open to working across the aisle with Republicans, hoping that continued public attention will drum up support.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell declared plainly on Monday that Biden’s plan is “something we’re not going to do.”
Speaking to reporters in Kentucky, McConnell said Republicans could support a “much more modest” approach, and one that doesn’t rely on corporate tax hikes to pay for it.
A core dividing line is Biden's effort to pay for infrastructure by undoing Donald Trump's tax break for corporations, a signature achievement of the Trump White House and its partners in Congress.
The 2017 GOP tax bill, which all the Republicans voted for, slashed the corporate rate from 35% to 21%. It was supposed to usher in a new era of American investment and job creation, yet growth never came close to the promised levels and the economy fell into a recession because of the pandemic.
Biden proposes raising the rate to 28% and instituting a global minimum rate to dissuade companies from relocating in lower-tax havens. Democratic senators led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, unveiled their own framework for an international taxation overhaul Monday that could provide an opening to Biden's approach.
“We desperately need reform,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., one of those involved in the effort.
Shepherding Biden's proposal through Congress remains a work in progress, particularly in the evenly-divided 50-50 Senate, where Democrats have the majority because the vice president from their party, Kamala Harris, can cast a tie-breaking vote.
But a single senator can break ranks to influence the size and shape of the package. On Monday, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., indicated he would prefer a corporate tax rate at 25%, lower than what Biden is proposing.
Seizing on Democratic divisions, Republicans have signaled zero interest in undoing the tax cuts they approved with Trump, and instead prefer a smaller infrastructure package paid for by user fees on drivers or other public-private partnerships that share the costs.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of Senate GOP leadership, said Sunday a smaller infrastructure package of about $615 billion, or 30% of what Biden is proposing, could draw bipartisan support.
Administration officials have encouraged Republicans to talk more fully about what they dislike and would do instead, under the opinion that a battle of ideas will only help Biden gain support with voters.
The president has already met twice with bipartisan groups of lawmakers in the Oval Office, and members of Biden’s Cabinet leading the charge on infrastructure have also have placed dozens of calls to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Yet the White House has a fundamental disagreement with Republicans on the definition of infrastructure, such that any outreach is unlikely to yield an agreement.
"Infrastructure is not just the roads we get a horse and buggy across,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a Monday briefing. “Infrastructure is about broadband. It’s about replacing lead pipes so people have water. It’s about rebuilding our schools.”
That leaves Biden and congressional Republicans on a collision course, the outcome of which could define the parties and his presidency.
The GOP strategy is reminiscent of its Obama-era stance more than a decade ago, when the Republicans opposed the 2009 rescue after the economic crisis, framing it as government overreach that piled on debt — an argument they used in 2010 to win back control of Congress.
But it’s not at all certain the GOP playbook that worked more than a decade ago will produce the same political gains this time. Biden is banking on polling that suggests his infrastructure package is popular among voters of both parties, making it easier to bypass any GOP blockade on Capitol Hill.
Touring a water treatment plant Monday in California, Harris said access to clean water was about a broader issue of fairness.
With the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, Harris noted that families in Iowa and parts of the Midwest needed federal help to upgrade the wells on their properties, while parts of California needed reliable access to fight wildfires.
“We must understand the equities and inequities of distribution and access to clean water, especially clean drinking water,” Harris said.
___
Associated Press writer Alexandra Jaffe contributed to this report.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
You don't have to be on the right or left to know how classless this post is. Congrats.
I also shouldn't be surprised, first two responses are those who are too far gone. WAKE UP PEOPLE!
I guess addiction issues are only lip service for republicans?