President Biden has spoken in Philadelphia about the budget even as he proposed a generous spending plan in support of low and middle-income Americans. While the new spending plan has no chance in the Republican-controlled House, it is a sign of how things will shape up leading to the budget. While no stimulus checks were part of the announcement, Biden has focussed on helping out Americans as they continue to struggle with declining wages and high inflation.
The President released a $6.8 trillion budget proposal that he says will reduce the deficit, bolster spending on the military, raise income tax on the rich, and take on China head-on in the market.
But the plan appears to be doomed even before it takes a concrete shape as the Republicans have outright rejected it. And with the GOP in control of the House of Representatives, any proposal has to first garner the support of the opposition party if it is to see the light of day.
The purse strings are under the control of the Republicans, as they have regained control of the House of Representatives after the midterms. Though they failed to take over the Senate, the situation effectively forces a stalemate on the effort of President Biden to do something concrete about the economic crisis and the high inflation that has skewered matters just after the midterms.
The situation thus nixes any chance of a political roadmap for spending and has degenerated into a little more of a political gamesmanship rather than a practical roadmap for spending for the future.
The Republican broadside is an opening volley in this high stake political fight over the debt ceiling and government spending. This is something that the president can point to even as he prepares for a second run for the White House.
President Biden revealed his plans in a formal speech in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon. He was in a politically critical spell as he drew attention to something that is considered a political dead-end.
Biden was positive about future developments and said that he valued everyone getting an even shot at opportunities. He said the new budget would reflect what can be done to uplift the burden on hard-working Americans. The president pointed out that too many Americans were treated as if they did not exist and had been left out of every form of progress, including economic.
Biden promised that low and moderate-income Americans were at the top of his mind. He said that with the help of various support measures including the stimulus check, Americans have started to experience a bit of relief.
While Biden’s speech was held at a union hall, and his speech focused on fiscal issues, it felt like a campaign stop. Joe Biden touted his priorities on infrastructure, education, and addressing the high price of prescription drugs.
The crowd was behind him and chanted for four more years of his rule. There were signs and posters in support of him.
Despite The End Of Federal Stimulus Check, Experts Predict Debt To Rise
The stimulus checks ended in 2021, but experts predict that the debt will keep rising over the next two decades. Trump’s unwarranted largesse to the super-rich in tax cuts is one of the primary reasons for the situation. Added to that are higher healthcare costs, high-interest rates, and the increasing aged population.
The government would immediately have to come up with a plan that brings down the deficit by more than twice what the president has proposed to keep the debt from continuing to rise as a percentage of the economy.
Biden’s plan involves spending on programs that have been the mainstay of Biden’s campaign in the past. This includes funds that are aimed at pushing up the number of affordable housing. He has also proposed free preschool by funding through a partnership between the federal government and state governments.
One of the key programs of President Biden that achieved tremendous success is the expanded child tax credit stimulus check. Researchers found that sharp declines in food shortages, financial stability, and a reduced level of anxiety coincided with the monthly Stimulus Checks that started in the third quarter of 2021.
For the first time in years, low-income families could afford the simple things in life. This is as basic as three meals a day for children, easy access to water and electricity, and money for medical expenses are hard to come by for an overwhelming majority of Americans. And if they do for the middle class, it comes at the cost of giving up the most luxuries in life.
And this at a time when Republican president Trump gave undeserving cuts worth trillions to the super-rich that is bound to have its effect over the next two decades.
While skeptics, comprising Republican politicians, called the policy expensive and wasteful, the results have come to stand as a handbook on how to help those in need during extraordinary circumstances, such as the recent pandemic.
A Census Bureau survey analysis found that the stimulus checks and the Child Tax Credit payment substantially improved people’s ability to at least buy basic items, including food and clothing. For the first time in decades, families were able to pay their utility bills and rent on time. The poorest of the households reaped the maximum benefits.
Food shortages were down by an unprecedented 42% while a wider gauge of financial instability fell by 43%. Among households, frequent anxiety and depression fell by over 20%.
While the economy bounced back on the back of the stimulus check, the Child Tax Credit Stimulus Checks, and other measures, there was a return to the pandemic-era despondency as the Republicans ganged up to stop any further stimulus support after 2021.
The greatest loss was the conclusion of the expanded Child Tax Credit stimulus check. The sustained and immediate decline in multiple hardships that were focused on disadvantaged families disappeared with the end of federal support.
The state stimulus check was not in a position to displace the extent of support afforded by the federal stimulus checks. All it could do was assuage to a certain extent the hurt caused by rising prices across products and services that marked the whole of 2022.
