Joe Biden presents his $2 trillion economic plan

AFP

U.S. President Joe Biden proposed Wednesday to invest some $2 trillion in infrastructure, with the stated goal of creating "millions of jobs," standing up to China and fighting climate change.

"It's ambitious! It's bold! And we can do it!", said the president from Pittsburgh, who has been demonstrating his reformist will since he took office less than three months ago.

The first phase of his "Build Back Better" program involves investments that would be spread over eight years and financed by an increase in corporate taxes from 21% to 28%.

"This will create the most resilient, strongest and most innovative economy in the world," he added, stressing the need to "win" against China.

"It is not about penalizing anyone," explained Joe Biden, hammering "believe in American capitalism" and having "nothing" against millionaires and billionaires.

But the White House tenant was indignant that a firefighter or a teacher pays 22% income tax and that groups like Amazon pay no federal tax. "I'm going to end that," he thundered.

His plan includes a $620 billion investment in transportation, which would upgrade more than 20,000 miles of roads and highways and repair some 10,000 bridges across the United States.

This new legislative offensive comes shortly after Congress adopted a stimulus plan focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, also costing nearly $2 trillion.

But the Pittsburgh speech is only the beginning of a bitter battle in Congress, the outcome of which is uncertain. The Democratic majority is indeed narrow and the negotiations are going to be formidable.

Already, the first dissonant voices have come from the left wing of the Democratic Party.

For New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the proposed sums are simply "insufficient". "The package needs to be much larger," she tweeted.

For Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso, on the other hand, this project is just a "Trojan horse" to allow Democrats "to spend more and raise taxes."

The only certainty is that the coming months will test the negotiating skills of the Democratic president, a former senator and expert in the workings of Washington.

The plan calls for amplifying "the electric vehicle revolution" with, for example, the switch to electricity for 20% of the famous yellow school buses.

It also aims to make new infrastructure more resistant to changes related to climate change.

Restoring or building roads, bridges, railroads, ports and airports? The idea is certainly appealing to the general public, especially since much of the infrastructure in the United States dates back to the 1950s and there is no debate about its dilapidation.

But building political consensus is no small task. Joe Biden's two predecessors, Donald Trump and Barack Obama, also made big promises on this issue. They remained unfulfilled.

Source: AFP