Biden infrastructure/tax increase megathread

[jojoju1998]

Isn't this bill dead or this is still going on

Something watered down will pass, I believe. Particularly affecting the child tax credit. I just hope we can still get the public option done this year, although my optimism has clearly vanished over last few weeks.

Chances of getting public option has gone from 62 percent to 3 percent.

[emailking]

So if he only cares about his near term approval rating, then sure abandon BBB. But that's not what it's about.

[Pericles]

So if he only cares about his near term approval rating, then sure abandon BBB. But that's not what it's about.

I don't think that says abandon BBB. It just says people don't really care about the bill and they dislike him, because they are affected by inflation and the pandemic not being over and-imo unfairly-blame him for this. However, people are also bad at predicting their responses to hypothetical political events-maybe if Biden were to pass a few easily understandable policies and tell people about it, he would look like a winner again and become more popular.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

So if he only cares about his near term approval rating, then sure abandon BBB. But that's not what it's about.

His near term approvals isn't only about inflation, there are petetions going around for more Stimulus 1200 checks but Sinema and Manchin are opposed to more stimulus they think it's welfare, except for child tax credit

The House like To Kanna are supportive of more 1200 checks but not Sinema and Manchin and Johnson, that's why Johnson should lose I'd he had his way, and Rs kept the Senate we would of only gotten 600 not 1200, he objected to 1200 in R Senate

The States are cherry picking like Newsom whom gets a Stimulus too he left millions of people out of Golden state stimulus and gave others double and he's talking about another stimulus with same qualifications

I would never donate to Cali D's , I will vote for them though, Elder dropped out and Newsom will beat like a drum any R challenge

[roxas11]

This says everything:

It says to me that the American people have become predictable and frankly a lot of them are full of it

If Biden solved the inflation issue tomorrow they will simply find another issue they can use in order to justify giving the Republicans power back in 2022. By the end of the day this is not about issues, its about the American peoples desire to put a check on the president.

The dirty little secret of American politics is that the public hates 1 party rule and they will do anything to end it as quickly as possible


bottom line we have seen this story many times before

It does not matter if the economy is doing great in the case of Trump or if the economy is doing bad in the case of Obama because the outcome will still end with the president's party taking a beating during their first midterm and media they will still act like the president could have done something to prevent it lol

[Frodo]

https://twitter.com/JacobBastian25/status/1479964706727202818

If we have to focus on one or two policies from the Build Back Better umbrella bill, extending the Child Tax Credit should definitely be one of them from at least an economic perspective.  All the attention we have given to Manchinema should instead be given to Mitt Romney, at least over this particular issue.  The high cost of daycare is one of the main reasons we are having a labor shortage (in addition to plummeting immigration and the Baby Boomer retirement wave).  Extending the CTC over a decade would bring more workers (especially women) back into the labor force, further buttressing the economic recovery. 

[Ferguson97]

This says everything:

Yeah it says that the American people are woefully uneducated on how the federal government works.

[All Along The Watchtower]

This says everything:

Yeah it says that the American people are woefully uneducated on how the federal government works.

And your post says that some on this forum are woefully uneducated on how American politics works.

[emailking]

But it's posted in the BBB thread, which seems to imply he should therefore focus on inflation at the expense of BBB. I think he should focus both.

[Sir Mohamed]

This says everything:

This was indeed predictable. That said, people generally overestimate how much influence POTUS has over bringing inflation down. Particularly when it's a worldwide issue. I just hope Fed estimations are correct and inflation indeed declines over this year.

[All Along The Watchtower]

I don't think that says abandon BBB. It just says people don't really care about the bill and they dislike him, because they are affected by inflation and the pandemic not being over and-imo unfairly-blame him for this. However, people are also bad at predicting their responses to hypothetical political events-maybe if Biden were to pass a few easily understandable policies and tell people about it, he would look like a winner again and become more popular.

I didn't post that screenshot because I think that Biden is doomed to be viewed as a "loser." I posted those numbers because I think they tell us something about how 2022 will be decisive for his administration.

The reasons for hope may come too late and too orthogonal to the mid-term campaign to benefit Congressional Democrats much, but they are important in their own terms, and they will have electoral consequences by 2024 if you insist on interpreting them exclusively through that prism, as Foxy Roxy does in the post immediately above this one.

Here is what Biden has going for him, potentially - none of it has anything to do with whether Build Back Better passes:

- Between the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, Biden has already signed two significant pieces of legislation despite narrow majorities in both the House and the Senate. The failure of Build Back Better doesn't have to define his relationship with Congress.
- Despite the emergence of new variants and seasonal increases in infections, Biden is leading the country out of the pandemic. Most of the country is vaccinated, the virus has never been more survivable, and his administration has explicitly said that there will be no more "shutdowns or lockdowns." In all likelihood, we will see the most sustained wave of progress toward returning to normal yet once the current spike in cases recedes.
- The withdrawal from Afghanistan looks better the longer we go without reaping consequences that Americans care about, especially as other potential crises become more prominent. This depends on how well the administration handles belligerence from Russia and China, as well as any number of other emerging problems, but as Biden's "foreign policy humiliation" fades into the past, more and more Americans are willing to acknowledge that it was a necessary step.
- If high inflation recedes within the next year, Biden will get credit for it. Granted, this is mostly outside of his control, and if the Fed fails to curb inflation or causes a recession, he will get credit for that too. But economic growth projections for 2022 are reasonably strong, the Fed has done a great deal to signal tightening, and the material economy has already done a great deal to move on from the limitations of pandemic.

It's nerve-wracking as we sit here with the South Africa variant ripping through the country and real average hourly earnings down 2.4% over 2020. The downside risks are very clear, but the upside potential is there too, particularly if we look beyond the myopic week-to-week news cycle.

In light of this, why should Biden chain his lot to a dubious, overstuffed bill written by the least popular people in his party that fails to address the problems that voters view as most urgent? The legislators pushing Build Back Better had their chance, and Biden did everything that he could for them. It's time for them to stop making a liability of themselves. No one can say that he did not try. No one can say that he failed to give them a chance.

I appreciate your cautious and heavily caveated optimism. And your assessment seems basically right.

Biden is an average or even above average Democratic politician who is being dragged down by his party, by local and state governments, by overly obsessed public health technocrats, and by the fact that he came into office with no mandate other than "the guy who beat Trump." And of course, he is very old, and his Vice President is even more unpopular. It's not good.

The best thing Biden could do for his approval ratings and the fate of his Presidency is to get out of the way of reopening. I honestly don't think he needs to (try to) pass any more major legislation; hell, the process of such efforts can be a debacle in an of itself, as we've seen with BBB and now the voting rights bill. He should be very careful re: foreign policy, especially re: the obvious flashpoints of Russia, China, and Iran. But other than that, perhaps some speeches and executive orders re: reopening would be sufficient, and whenever possible he should distance himself Congressional Democrats.

Is this all rather passive and "do no harm?" Absolutely. But I'd argue that's precisely what we need from a President right now for our politics, our government, and our society as a whole. And what better personification of that than "Sleepy" Joe Biden (age: 79 going on 80)?

[roxas11]

I don't think that says abandon BBB. It just says people don't really care about the bill and they dislike him, because they are affected by inflation and the pandemic not being over and-imo unfairly-blame him for this. However, people are also bad at predicting their responses to hypothetical political events-maybe if Biden were to pass a few easily understandable policies and tell people about it, he would look like a winner again and become more popular.

I didn't post that screenshot because I think that Biden is doomed to be viewed as a "loser." I posted those numbers because I think they tell us something about how 2022 will be decisive for his administration.

The reasons for hope may come too late and too orthogonal to the mid-term campaign to benefit Congressional Democrats much, but they are important in their own terms, and they will have electoral consequences by 2024 if you insist on interpreting them exclusively through that prism, as Foxy Roxy does in the post immediately above this one.

Here is what Biden has going for him, potentially - none of it has anything to do with whether Build Back Better passes:

- Between the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, Biden has already signed two significant pieces of legislation despite narrow majorities in both the House and the Senate. The failure of Build Back Better doesn't have to define his relationship with Congress.
- Despite the emergence of new variants and seasonal increases in infections, Biden is leading the country out of the pandemic. Most of the country is vaccinated, the virus has never been more survivable, and his administration has explicitly said that there will be no more "shutdowns or lockdowns." In all likelihood, we will see the most sustained wave of progress toward returning to normal yet once the current spike in cases recedes.
- The withdrawal from Afghanistan looks better the longer we go without reaping consequences that Americans care about, especially as other potential crises become more prominent. This depends on how well the administration handles belligerence from Russia and China, as well as any number of other emerging problems, but as Biden's "foreign policy humiliation" fades into the past, more and more Americans are willing to acknowledge that it was a necessary step.
- If high inflation recedes within the next year, Biden will get credit for it. Granted, this is mostly outside of his control, and if the Fed fails to curb inflation or causes a recession, he will get credit for that too. But economic growth projections for 2022 are reasonably strong, the Fed has done a great deal to signal tightening, and the material economy has already done a great deal to move on from the limitations of pandemic.

It's nerve-wracking as we sit here with the South Africa variant ripping through the country and real average hourly earnings down 2.4% over 2020. The downside risks are very clear, but the upside potential is there too, particularly if we look beyond the myopic week-to-week news cycle.

In light of this, why should Biden chain his lot to a dubious, overstuffed bill written by the least popular people in his party that fails to address the problems that voters view as most urgent? The legislators pushing Build Back Better had their chance, and Biden did everything that he could for them. It's time for them to stop making a liability of themselves. No one can say that he did not try. No one can say that he failed to give them a chance.

I appreciate your cautious and heavily caveated optimism. And your assessment seems basically right.

Biden is an average or even above average Democratic politician who is being dragged down by his party, by local and state governments, by overly obsessed public health technocrats, and by the fact that he came into office with no mandate other than "the guy who beat Trump." And of course, he is very old, and his Vice President is even more unpopular. It's not good.

The best thing Biden could do for his approval ratings and the fate of his Presidency is to get out of the way of reopening. I honestly don't think he needs to (try to) pass any more major legislation; hell, the process of such efforts can be a debacle in an of itself, as we've seen with BBB and now the voting rights bill. He should be very careful re: foreign policy, especially re: the obvious flashpoints of Russia, China, and Iran. But other than that, perhaps some speeches and executive orders re: reopening would be sufficient, and whenever possible he should distance himself Congressional Democrats.

Is this all rather passive and "do no harm?" Absolutely. But I'd argue that's precisely what we need from a President right now for our politics, our government, and our society as a whole. And what better personification of that than "Sleepy" Joe Biden (age: 79 going on 80)?

I agree that Biden needs does not need to pass everything in his BBB bill right now, but failing to address climate change will have a devastating impact on both the US and on the president's legacy

It's one thing for the Dems to say that they failed to get the child tax credit extended its another to tell the young voters who helped put them in the office that they failed to address the issue that will impact them the most in the years to come. Unlike the child tax credit there won't be another chance for the Dems to try again later when it comes to climate change and the long term impact on the US will be horrific.

[Frodo]

Acknowledging hurdles, Biden ready to split up budget package

[Pericles]

The two top priorities for Biden are extending the Child Tax Credit and helping reduce the cost of community colleges:

Acknowledging hurdles, Biden ready to split up budget package

He said those were the ones that are the least likely to pass, not necessarily his top two.

[7,052,770]

Acknowledging hurdles, Biden ready to split up budget package

We have to play the hand we're dealt. There is still much to accomplish in 2022.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

Acknowledging hurdles, Biden ready to split up budget package

We have to play the hand we're dealt. There is still much to accomplish in 2022.

Nothing will be accomplished.

Joe Manchin is a sack of crap who thinks that he was elected dictator and Nancy Pelosi decided to pay him up front.
He’s already explicitly said there no agreement he will ever reach. Any ‘agreement’ with Joe Manchin comes in the form of doing what Joe Manchin’s donors asked him to do in exchange for ‘talking’ about things and then him telling you no.

But hey, I’m sure he’s just representing West Virginia by taking money literally out of 93% percent of constituents pockets and letting the black lung fund expire.

[President Johnson]

Acknowledging hurdles, Biden ready to split up budget package

We have to play the hand we're dealt. There is still much to accomplish in 2022.

Nothing will be accomplished.

Joe Manchin is a sack of crap who thinks that he was elected dictator and Nancy Pelosi decided to pay him up front.
He’s already explicitly said there no agreement he will ever reach. Any ‘agreement’ with Joe Manchin comes in the form of doing what Joe Manchin’s donors asked him to do in exchange for ‘talking’ about things and then him telling you no.

But hey, I’m sure he’s just representing West Virginia by taking money literally out of 93% percent of constituents pockets and letting the black lung fund expire.

So you think the public option is dead as well? Didn't Schumer want to pass this through reconciliation in 2022?

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

Acknowledging hurdles, Biden ready to split up budget package

We have to play the hand we're dealt. There is still much to accomplish in 2022.

Nothing will be accomplished.

Joe Manchin is a sack of crap who thinks that he was elected dictator and Nancy Pelosi decided to pay him up front.
He’s already explicitly said there no agreement he will ever reach. Any ‘agreement’ with Joe Manchin comes in the form of doing what Joe Manchin’s donors asked him to do in exchange for ‘talking’ about things and then him telling you no.

But hey, I’m sure he’s just representing West Virginia by taking money literally out of 93% percent of constituents pockets and letting the black lung fund expire.

So you think the public option is dead as well? Didn't Schumer want to pass this through reconciliation in 2022?

Yes I do

Whatever bill Schumer puts forward will be cut down over and over in exchange for more talks that Joe Manchin will walk out of.

How many times do we have to see this happen to get it?

[😥]

https://twitter.com/bresreports/status/1484273231708270597?t=qpbWYfJlX9Ue3F8YzsN...

These people again

[jojoju1998]

Acknowledging hurdles, Biden ready to split up budget package

We have to play the hand we're dealt. There is still much to accomplish in 2022.

Nothing will be accomplished.

Joe Manchin is a sack of crap who thinks that he was elected dictator and Nancy Pelosi decided to pay him up front.
He’s already explicitly said there no agreement he will ever reach. Any ‘agreement’ with Joe Manchin comes in the form of doing what Joe Manchin’s donors asked him to do in exchange for ‘talking’ about things and then him telling you no.

But hey, I’m sure he’s just representing West Virginia by taking money literally out of 93% percent of constituents pockets and letting the black lung fund expire.

So you think the public option is dead as well? Didn't Schumer want to pass this through reconciliation in 2022?

Yes I do

Whatever bill Schumer puts forward will be cut down over and over in exchange for more talks that Joe Manchin will walk out of.

How many times do we have to see this happen to get it?

RIP Public Option.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

Acknowledging hurdles, Biden ready to split up budget package

We have to play the hand we're dealt. There is still much to accomplish in 2022.

Nothing will be accomplished.

Joe Manchin is a sack of crap who thinks that he was elected dictator and Nancy Pelosi decided to pay him up front.
He’s already explicitly said there no agreement he will ever reach. Any ‘agreement’ with Joe Manchin comes in the form of doing what Joe Manchin’s donors asked him to do in exchange for ‘talking’ about things and then him telling you no.

But hey, I’m sure he’s just representing West Virginia by taking money literally out of 93% percent of constituents pockets and letting the black lung fund expire.

So you think the public option is dead as well? Didn't Schumer want to pass this through reconciliation in 2022?

Yes I do

Whatever bill Schumer puts forward will be cut down over and over in exchange for more talks that Joe Manchin will walk out of.

How many times do we have to see this happen to get it?

RIP Public Option.

Joe Manchin decided to kill the expanded CTC, exploding child poverty among his own constituents because a staffer looked at him funny.

Did you seriously expect a Public Option after that?

[jojoju1998]

Acknowledging hurdles, Biden ready to split up budget package

We have to play the hand we're dealt. There is still much to accomplish in 2022.

Nothing will be accomplished.

Joe Manchin is a sack of crap who thinks that he was elected dictator and Nancy Pelosi decided to pay him up front.
He’s already explicitly said there no agreement he will ever reach. Any ‘agreement’ with Joe Manchin comes in the form of doing what Joe Manchin’s donors asked him to do in exchange for ‘talking’ about things and then him telling you no.

But hey, I’m sure he’s just representing West Virginia by taking money literally out of 93% percent of constituents pockets and letting the black lung fund expire.

So you think the public option is dead as well? Didn't Schumer want to pass this through reconciliation in 2022?

Yes I do

Whatever bill Schumer puts forward will be cut down over and over in exchange for more talks that Joe Manchin will walk out of.

How many times do we have to see this happen to get it?

RIP Public Option.

Joe Manchin decided to kill the expanded CTC, exploding child poverty among his own constituents because a staffer looked at him funny.

Did you seriously expect a Public Option after that?

Am I not good at Sarcasm ?

[GP270watch]

 The monthly Childhood Tax Credit took 3 million kids from under the poverty line. Ending it will send millions of those kids right back into poverty. Manchin is the worst.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

The monthly Childhood Tax Credit took 3 million kids from under the poverty line. Ending it will send millions of those kids right back into poverty. Manchin is the worst.

But see he’s from West Virginia, the land of humble Maserati driving yatch owners where only 93% of families get them.

[hurricanehink]

Today, Biden visited the location of the former Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, which collapsed this morning. Biden was already scheduled to speak in the city about infrastructure. I think the story could end up being a real winner for Democrats, as the Infrastructure and Jobs Act was already signed last November. That's something they can run on, fixing our infrastructure so we don't have another bridge collapse.

For reference, the last vehicular bridge collapse was in 2015, when part of Interstate 10 (built in the 50s or 60s) in California collapsed during floods. In 2013, part of Interstate 5 (built in 1955) in Washington collapsed when an oversize vehicle (15'9" in height) struck the frame of a bridge, which was 14'7" in height. And of course in 2007, part of Interstate 35W (originally built in 1967) collapsed in Minneapolis during rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.