The President got Congress to ok BILLIONS to help the economy get thru the pandemic ….
The pandemic is subsiding…..
Almost $150 Billion still hasn’t been used….
This is about economics ….
And?
Politics…..
Three months after its passage, cash is starting to flow — $194 billion so far, according to the Treasury Department — and officials are devoting funds to a range of efforts, including keeping public service workers on the payroll, helping the fishing industry, improving broadband access and aiding the homeless.
“It’s not like all places are rushing out to do the most aspirational things, since the first thing they need to do is replace lost revenue,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan Washington think tank. “But there is much more flexibility in this program than in previous stimulus packages, so there is more potential for creativity.”
The local decisions are taking on greater national urgency as the Biden administration negotiates with Republicans in Congress over a bipartisan infrastructure package. Some Republican lawmakers want money from previous relief packages to be repurposed to pay for infrastructure, arguing that many states are in far better financial shape than expected and the money should be put to better use.
The administration, sensitive to those concerns, has begun bending the program’s rules to allow the money to be spent even more broadly. In May, the Treasury Department told states they could use their funding to pay for lotteries intended to encourage vaccinations. In June, President Biden prodded local governmentsto consider using the cash to address the recent rise in violent crime, which his aides regard as a serious political hazard heading into the 2022 midterm elections….
…
The idea of the federal government distributing such vast sums has been charged from the start. Republican lawmakers successfully blocked a large state and local package during the Trump administration, denouncing it as a “blue-state bailout” that helped fiscally-irresponsible local governments.
Not a single Republican in either house of Congress voted for the bill. Yet the vast majority of officials from conservative states have welcomed the aid without much fuss. In general, Republican governors and agency officials have tilted toward financing economic development and infrastructure improvements, particularly for upgrading broadband in rural areas, rather than funding social programs…
CG says
Photo Gallery of Biden’s trip today to the traditionally Republican suburb of Crystal Lake, IL.
Images include Presidential helicopters and Trumpist protestors along the motorcade route
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20210707/images-president-joe-bidens-visit-to-mchenry-county-college-in-crystal-lake?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
jamesb says
Interesting CG…..
Biden, a President, among the people…..
A Democratic President laying the ground work for the Midterms and 2024….
The helo’s in the first picture are Black Hawks NOT the much older one’s….
The helo’s in th second picture are MV-22’s …Bigger…That operate as Helo’s and can rotate their engines to operate as an airplane….
Both types will be retired soon for a new generation or Sikorsky Presidential ‘Marine One’ Helo’s…
No mask’s just about anywhere, eh?
bdog says
Biden needs to do five things to ensure that the mid-terms either keep the congress the same or at least keep one house…
Infrastructure (Most Likely)
American Social Infrastructure Plan (possible, the grand scale he wanted, unlikely)
Keep the Economy Strong (no brainer and Do able, it’s the economy stupid, and will shut up the Culture War nuts because if your pocket book is fine you tend not to worry so much about the culture war BS)
Student Loans (Possible, Educated People overwhelmingly vvoted for him and if he doesn’t return the favor some will sit out the mid-terms dooming Democrats)
Immigration (a fucking quagmire)
jamesb says
Good List Bdog!