White House Optimistic About New Infrastructure Deal

Let's talk about first the bipartisan part of this and what this accomplishes, how much of the president's plan this gets done, assuming this does, in fact, make it through congress? Well, that's a big if, but we remain very optimistic, very exciting yesterday to see Republicans and Democrats come together on infrastructure plan. That could be a game changer for American industry and for the American economy. And we desperately need these investments all across the country in basic infrastructure, roads and bridges. And of course, the plan included making sure that we replace those lead pipe so that people can get clean drinking water, as well as investments in electric vehicle charging stations all across the country. These are the kinds of investments that our economy needs in order to thrive. So that businesses can thrive and hire workers and make sure that America gets back to work and stays at work. Talk about the lead pipes. I must say, this is a pet issue of mine because I've read some about it from Westmore and we tend to think about rojos roads and bridges and railroads as being infrastructure. We don't think about the effect on our children often, often on their cognitive development because of lead pipes. Explain what this could do, the economy in terms of really bringing along the next generation of Americans. Well, you know, some of this very basic infrastructure, water, sewers, you know, so many of us take for granted. But yet for so many communities across these United states, people simply can't turn on the pipe and know that that water is safe to drink. There is no amount of lead in water that is safe for young children. It leads to brain damage and developmental problems. And those are both expensive for families and communities and government to help those families cope to that. And we are one of the richest countries in the world. We should be able to make sure that every American has access to safe drinking water. This is an investment in our future and investment in American business. Those businesses, if they don't know that the water is clean and safe, they may not choose to invest in that community. So this is certainly a win for the economy as well as so important for children and families. So so this is a fair amount of what President Biden originally proposed. As I said, it's not all of it by any means. There is what I think the president calls the human infrastructure part of it. There was talk about that at the White House yesterday, that somehow this is contingent upon that. Give us a sense of what this leaves out, what is left to be done, certainly in the American Jobs Plan and the American families plan that the president laid out in the spring include investments in things like home health care, in child care, in establishing a nationwide paid family medical leave program, investments in moving towards universal prekindergarten, as well as an expansion extending the expansion of the child tax credit. So it is really important that those pieces remain a part of the plan because they're so important to American families. And these are also important to American business. And the president made clear yesterday that there is a two pronged strategy. So this bipartisan, bipartisan bill that has these core pieces that Republicans and Democrats agree are important on that has one path. But then these other pieces, which around the country, Republicans and Democrats agree are important but isn't a part of the package. The president is committed to making sure that those go through another congressional vehicle. So, yeah, sorry. Please go ahead. I think just I just want to underscore that both of these pieces are economically critical. We need to be making investments in young people and in care and in those care workers because so many Americans hold those jobs. We need to make sure that those are good jobs. One of the issues has been how we pay for the infrastructure investment with the Bipartisan party that basically we figured out a way to do it without really increasing taxes. It's different for the partisan, if I can call it that way, the possible reconciliation alternatives. Give us your sense about growth, GDP growth and the effect of taxation on that, because some economists are concerned that if we do increase taxation, that actually will inhibit some of the growth that you want to have because of the infrastructure investment. Well, here's the thing, David. Core pieces of the president's tax agenda are focused on doing some of the distortionary taxes that were put in place as a part of the 2017 tax cuts and Jobs Act. And that legislation, you know, encouraged firms to shift profits overseas, to ship jobs overseas. And in fact, you know, while the American people were promised that that tax relief would lead to greater investment, we saw pre pandemic that it did not. A series of research papers showed that those massive tax cuts did not lead to the promised increase in investment. That means it wasn't good for growth, essentially. So what we want to do is make sure that we are focused on a tax system that is fair, that rewards work and not wealth. And it make sure that those who had the most capacity to pay, those who benefited the most from growth in our economy. Those who have made the most gains that they pay their fair share so that we can have these much needed investments across our economy that benefit everyone and importantly benefit businesses just as much as they benefit American families. I think an important question on everyone's mind is, insofar as you are increasing some taxes, is it for the purposes of fairness and equity sort of a redistribution or is it actually part of the growth strategy? That's a great question, David. And I would say it's a little bit of both. You know, I think there's a lot of research out there now that shows that this widening economic inequality, especially the extreme wealth inequality, is not necessarily good for growth. It can be destabilizing and it means that investments may not be focused on their best purpose for our society. So we want to make sure that both our government spending and the way that we collect revenues really encourages the kinds of investments that make America more competitive. They're going to support American workers and grow and build America's middle class. So that should be the goal. And I think that we can get to a better tax system that gets us there through the reforms that the president has outlined over the past couple of months.