A wise maxim states, ¨Politics is the art of the possible¨. This is especially true regarding the Covid-19 Relief package in the halls of Congress. President Biden and the Democrats are proposing a $1.9 trillion relief package. It includes a $1,400 check for most Americans (in addition to the $600 they received a few months ago). It also includes an extension of unemployment benefits, aid for small businesses and for those persons facing hunger and eviction. This bill would probably pass in the House of Representatives but would have a more difficult time in the Senate. For legislation of this magnitude, Biden would like bi-partisan support. Ten Republican senators met with Biden last week and offered a counterproposal of $600 billion, roughly one-third of the Biden plan.
It is possible, but difficult, for the parties to reach a compromise, but it would take weeks and perhaps months to achieve it (in the midst of the impeachment trial of former president Trump in the Senate). Time is of the essence as the number of people who have lost their jobs during the pandemic is astronomical. Tens of thousands of our neighbors have been evicted from their housing and millions do not have enough money to put food on their tables.
The Republicans argue that the national debt would skyrocket with such expenditures. This argument rings hollow (to me) because in his first year of entering office, Trump and the Republicans passed a tax cut (which gave the biggest benefits to the wealthy) that adds $1.9 trillion to the debt over a ten year period, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
I do agree with the Republicans that the relief checks should be more targeted. These checks should not go to individuals who make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. I suggest that a cutoff should be for those who earn $60,000 per year of less. People who are employed and earning more than that amount do not need any additional taxpayer money.
If Biden would accept this and other reasonable suggestions, he would be able to reduce the legislation’s cost to about $1.6 trillion and probably get several Republican senators to vote in favor of the bill. It is possible to maintain your deepest convictions and to reach a healthy compromise with people on the other side of the aisle. We need our elected officials to concede their most extreme positions and work towards a satisfactory agreement for the wellbeing of the people.
Lindy Scott 