​Pieces Of the Build Back Better Plan Mosaic

In contrast to his predecessor former President Donald Trump’s “build a wall” initiative to discourage immigration across America’s southern border, President Joe Biden has taken a different approach in creating his domestic agenda: the Build Back Better Act. 

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Despite the general public’s recent feedback on President Biden’s budget reconciliation bill, the term “build back better” actually dates back to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. In its wake, the natural disaster had left behind over one million dollars in economic damages. As a result, “build back better” became a concept for post-disaster relief to “improve a community’s physical, social, and environmental and economic conditions” (Build Back Better). True to its name, the reconstruction phase gave way to an introduction of “new ideas, technologies, and methods to improve on pre-disaster conditions.”

 

Presently, “build back better” has been adopted to represent the reconstruction of America’s economy. This piece of Biden’s two-part domestic agenda focuses on catering to those that find themselves constantly battling with the short end of America’s economic stick—the middle class. On October 28, 2021, the White House released a statement regarding President Biden’s announcement of the Build Back Better Act’s framework, and plans to sign the legislation into law. 

 

Although the plan has been advertised as an opportunity to create more occupations for the middle class, there is more to the framework of the Build Back Better Plan. The plan boasts its “most significant effort to bring down costs to strengthen the middle class in generations,” making a comprehensive investment in affordable housing and by extending the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for 17 million low-wage workers (The White House). Not only that, but by reducing prescription drug costs and strengthening former President Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act, the plan promises an “expansion of affordable health care.” In short, Build Back Better essentially promises a series of social policies and programs to help the socioeconomically disadvantaged; additional improvements in education and healthcare would manifest in the form of universal preschool for children, free two years in community college for high school graduates, and expanded Medicare and Medicaid services (Salam). And with the Republicans’ immovable opposition, the Democrats have decided to propel the bill forward by avoiding the 60-vote filibuster threshold through a party-line vote. 

 

To cover the immense $3.5 trillion cost of the bill, the plan announces new tax plans—many of which repeal President Trump’s tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy such as reinstating estate tax and raising the decreased corporate tax rate from 21% to back to 26%.

 

President Biden’s Build Back Better plan’s holistic approach toward rebuilding the US economy promises the American public of an economic reconstruction. As of now, however, the plan has been put on hold due to ping-ponging negotiations between President Biden and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who has announced his disapproval for the current version of the legislation (Luhby, Lobosco). As a result, the plan’s promises to the working class have been put on a back burner, until the Democrats can approve the legislation through the budget reconciliation process. 

 

Sources

Luhby, Tami, and Katie Lobosco. “Biden's Build Back Better Plan Is on Ice. Here's What That Means for You.” CNN, Cable News Network, 20 Dec. 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/20/politics/joe-biden-build-back-better-setback-explained/index.html. 
Salam, Erum. “What's Actually in Biden's Build Back Better Bill? and How Would It Affect You?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 18 Oct. 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/18/what-is-build-back-better-crash-course. 
“The Build Back Better Framework.” The White House, The United States Government, 3 Dec. 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/build-back-better/. 
“About Us.” Build Back Better, 14 Nov. 2017, https://buildbackbetter.co.nz/about-us/.