President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a sweeping use of government power to reshape the world’s largest economy and counter China’s rise in a $2 trillion-plus proposal that was met with swift Republican resistance, Reuters reported.
The president’s “American Jobs Plan” would put corporate America on the hook for the tab as the government creates millions of jobs building infrastructure, such as roads, tackles climate change and boosts human services like care for the elderly.
“It’s a once-in-a-generation investment in America, unlike anything we’ve seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades ago,” Biden said in unveiling the program in Pittsburgh.
He said he had no problem asking companies to foot the bill and is “gonna put an end” to Amazon.com Inc and other major companies paying little to nothing in federal taxes.
Biden’s second multitrillion-dollar legislative proposal in two months in office sets the stage for a partisan clash in the U.S. Congress, where members largely agree that investments are needed but are divided on the total size and inclusion of programs traditionally seen as social services.
Another economic proposal Biden will release in April could add a further $2 trillion to the total price tag.
Coupled with his recently enacted $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, Biden’s infrastructure initiative would give the federal government a bigger role in the U.S. economy than it has had in generations, accounting for 20% or more of annual output.
Biden’s team believes a government-directed effort to strengthen the economy is the best way to provide support to an economy walloped by the coronavirus pandemic and contend with increased competition and a national security threat posed by China.
The proposal was greeted icily by conservatives and major business groups.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said the proposal was “another Trojan horse for far-left demands” one day after Biden called to brief the minority leader on the proposal. McConnell said raising taxes would be “killing jobs and slowing wage growth when workers need a fast recovery.”
Biden is ignoring a campaign promise to raise taxes on wealthy individuals, at least for now.
The plan would instead increase the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% and change the tax code to close loopholes that allow companies to move profits overseas, according to a 25-page briefing paper released by the White House.
Biden said the goal was not to “target” businesses but to address divisions and inequality worsened by the pandemic.
The plan would spread the cost for projects over an eight-year period and aims to pay for it all over 15 years, without adding to the country’s long-term debt, the White House said.
Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the nation’s largest trade group, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said while the organization shares Biden’s sense of urgency on infrastructure, his plan is “dangerously misguided.”
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