Build Back Better
I have no reason to be optimistic. Even so. . .
I am blissfully unaware of how governing actually works. I’m guessing most of us—no matter how hard we’ve tried to pay attention over the years—are also carting around a 6th grade level of understanding of how government functions.
This doesn’t mean we aren’t going to share our opinion, however, does it? Not in the age of around-the-clock outrage, breaking news headlines and a desperate need to get noticed. Opinions, facts, hearsay. . . whatever. Words are cheap. I’m capable of spewing forth about a thousand every other day or so.
I don’t watch cable news but, when I am in Rome, I do as the Romans do, so when I was visiting Santa Fe earlier this month, I watched the 5 o’clock national news hour while nursing a beverage-of-choice—since it was ‘cocktail hour’—with my lovely sister and her husband.
I was fascinated—and disturbed—that, a few weeks ago, the national news departments were dedicating an inordinate amount of time on the story of a missing young white woman who was probably killed by her abusive, elusive, on-the-lam boyfriend.
Well, that story has grown stale after weeks of breathless updates.
Never fear, however, because a celebrity managed to kill two co-workers on a Santa Fe set with a prop gun. I’ll admit that, like everyone else with a working internet connection, I was nonplussed as to how that could happen. Still, the news coverage of the tragedy sounded as if it was disproportionate to a hundred other news stories that drop every day. Decidedly disproportionate to other gun tragedies that occur daily.
News shows are terrible gauges for what’s important in the world and news shows are incredibly awful at explaining how our government works. To be fair, the cable news shows don’t have the time to explain in any meaningful detail, and most of us don’t take the time to listen to anyone trying to explain the sausage-making process to us. And, if it’s David Brooks, I just spend the entire time imagining what it would be like to throw a glass of water, or crush a pink cupcake, in his face.
The agonizing process over the current bills being wrangled over on Capitol Hill are a case in point. While most of us don’t know what’s really going on, it doesn’t stop us from bitching and moaning about it on social media. It doesn’t stop the media—some trying to play fair, some trying to obfuscate, some treating it like it’s a horse race, some doing all three of those things—from thoroughly muddying the waters, ginning up tempers and never fully clarifying what’s truly going on. It doesn’t stop politicians from grandstanding and strutting about like peacocks or constipated hedgehogs in an effort to capture the attention of news shows that need endless streams of news content.
I’m supposed to hurl epithets at the “moderate” Democratic senators from West Virginia and Arizona—and I do—because they are making a shambles of the process. If they were fully on board with the Biden agenda, ostensibly, the process would be smoother. But what about the 50 members of the opposition party who stand to gain all sorts of goodies for their constituents—goodies they will brag about in their next election contest? Shouldn’t some of them be getting crucified in the press for their voting against everything? Instead of just acting like it’s a foregone conclusion and issuing them a pass?
We weren’t meant to watch our government this closely. It makes it agonizing. It makes it ulcer-inducing.
The fact anything positive is going to happen with the Biden agenda is due to the enthusiasm during the midterms in 2018, and the supreme efforts undertaken in Georgia that brought us two senators who have the American people in mind first. When the opposition party held all of the reins of government, they voted themselves and their fat-cat donors an enormous tax decrease. Some of that tax reduction accounts for the ever-widening crevasse between the poor, the middle class and the burgeoning multi-millionaire and billionaire class.
When all is said and done with these high-stakes negotiations, we need to celebrate the net-positive, and get to work increasing our majorities in both Houses. We’re not going to get everything we wanted. It’s a shame tax rates will not return to what they once were in the ‘60s, or even the ‘80s. It’s a shame the last administration’s tax cuts were not rolled back—at a minimum. It’s a shame Medicare won’t cover senior’s dental needs. It’s a shame Paid Family Leave—of which America is one of only 6 countries* to not have Paid Family Leave—will be removed.
(*The other countries are the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Tonga, according to data from the World Policy Analysis Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.)
Perusing my social media feed I see individuals grousing because their favorite parts of BBB were excised. I see other individuals—who are looking at the bigger picture—saying this is a good start. They’re saying, “We can live with it, especially if we can use it as a stepping stone.”
The way I see it, if it turns just a small percentage of the ‘F*ck Joe Biden’ people into begrudging recipients of the largesse we all helped to create (the largesse is derived from taxes, which are the only thing guaranteed in life, besides death—and Seattle parking tickets, but that’s another story), it will be a net plus going into next year’s elections.
There’s a scene in Zombieland where the nerdy hero, Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg added a new rule he learned from his traveling buddy, Tallahassee, played by Woody Harrelson. He had a whole list of rules to help him stay alive during the zombie apocalypse, but this one was a little different.
I loved Zombieland, so I’m providing the ‘extended’ version of the explanation for Rule#32.
It was Rule#32 Enjoy the Little Things. In a world filled with blood thirsty deranged humans, this is a good rule to have in your repertoire. To help recharge your batteries from long days of zombie-dodging.
I’m going to list below all the others for your viewing pleasure but, in the meantime, we should heed Rule#32 and enjoy the little things.
Columbus’ Rules in Zombieland:
#1: Cardio - When the virus struck, for obvious reasons, the first ones to go were the fatties.
#2: Double Tap - In those moments when you're not sure the undead are really dead dead, don't get all stingy with your bullets.
#3: Beware of Bathrooms - Don't let them catch you with your pants down.
#4: Seat belts - Fasten your seat belts. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.
#7: Travel light - And I don't mean just luggage.
Rule 8: Kill Efficiently
Rule 9: A club does not have to be reloaded
Rule 10: Don't make any noise
Rule 15: Keep an exit free
#17: Don't be a Hero - Why don't you take this one?
#17: Be a Hero - Some rules are made to be broken. (Rule updated)
#18: Limber up - Going down that hill, it is very important.
#22: When in Doubt, Know Your Way Out
#23: Ziploc™ Bags - You got enough problems, moisture shouldn't be one of them.
#31: Check the Back Seat - No one back there but my duffel bag.
#32: Enjoy the little things - I hate to give credit to anyone who looks like Yosemite Sam, but I'm writing it down.
Also, here are some of the things the Biden Administration hopes will survive the final cut. Some of them will. Just not all of them.
Whatever remains, we will have the Democrats and Joe Biden to thank for that. So far, not a single conservative has voted in favor of any of these ideas. (Maybe in the House. I’m not 100% sure.)
FACT SHEET: President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda Will Deliver Historic Investments in American Families and Communities
AUGUST 13, 2021•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
One year ago, with the country at a crossroads, President Biden unveiled his Build Back Better Agenda. Facing a raging pandemic, unprecedented economic downturn, profound climate crisis, and persistent racial injustices, President Biden outlined an ambitious agenda that would position America not just to return to where we were, but to build back better towards a more sustainable, resilient, equitable, and prosperous future.
The Build Back Better Agenda includes President Biden’s American Families Plan and key elements of the American Jobs Plan that were not included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. In Washington, this proposal is known as “reconciliation.” But the bottom line is a plan that will create jobs, cut taxes, and lower costs for working families—all paid for by making the tax code fairer and making the wealthiest and large corporations pay their fair share.
LOWER COSTS
Lower Child Care Costs. For 57 percent of children under six, there are no good choices for child care where they live. Only 44 percent of four-year-olds are served by public preschool programs. Nearly four in five private sector workers have no access to paid family leave. The President’s plan would ensure that no middle-class family pays more than 7 percent of their income for high-quality child care up to age 5—and that working families most in need won’t pay anything—saving the average family $14,800 per year. President Biden will also make universal preschool a reality, partnering with states to offer every parent access to high-quality preschool for 3- and 4- year-olds in the setting of their choice. Fully implementing this investment is projected to benefit five million families and save the average American family $13,000 per year. And the Build Back Better Agenda would institute 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, to help improve the health of new mothers and reduce wage loss.
Lower Higher Education Costs. Education beyond high school is increasingly important to succeed in the 21st century economy, even as it has become unaffordable for too many families. The Build Back Better Agenda would provide two years of free community college—boosting the earnings of low-wage high school graduates by nearly $6,000 per year. President Biden’s plan will also increase the maximum Pell Grant award by almost $1,500, and invest billions in subsidized tuition for low- and middle-income students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and minority-serving institutions. The plan also invests in evidence-based strategies to strengthen completion and retention rates at institutions that serve high numbers of low-income students, particularly community colleges.
Lower Prescription Drug Costs. Americans pay 2-3 times more for their prescription drugs than people in other wealthy countries, and nearly 1 in 4 Americans struggle to afford prescription drugs. President Biden’s plan will lower prescription drug costs for Americans by letting Medicare negotiate drug prices, so consumers are no longer at the whim of pharmaceutical companies.
Lower Health Care Costs. The Build Back Better Agenda would reduce health insurance premiums, saving 9 million people an average of $50 per person per month, and add dental, vision, and hearing coverage to Medicare. By closing the Medicaid gap for low-income Americans, the President’s plan would help 4 million uninsured people gain coverage. President Biden’s agenda would also expand home care for older and disabled Americans, while improving the jobs and the pay of the home care workers who care for them.
Lower Housing Costs. Driven by the largest shortfall of new housing units in 50 years, rents and housing prices continue to increase—with some 10.5 million renters paying more than half their incomes in rent. The Build Back Better Agenda will use tax credits and government financing to bolster affordable and resilient housing, supporting the construction or rehabilitation of more than two million homes.
CUT TAXES
Tax Cuts for Families with Children. One third of all adults with children struggle to pay their usual expenses. The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children over six and $3,600 for children under six. The Build Back Better Agenda will extend the Child Tax Credit expansion in the American Rescue Plan, providing 39 million households and nearly 90 percent of American children a major tax cut and cutting child poverty nearly in half.
Tax Cuts for Workers Without Children. The President’s agenda permanently extends the American Rescue Plan’s increase to the Earned-Income Tax Credit from $543 to $1,502. This will benefit roughly 17 million low-wage workers, including cashiers, cooks, delivery drivers, food preparation workers, and child care providers.
CREATE JOBS
Workforce Training. The U.S. has chronically underinvested in workforce development, and millions of jobs have been going unfilled in growing sectors such as construction and health care. Through high-quality career and technical education pathways and Registered Apprenticeships, President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda will invest in training programs that will prepare millions of American workers for high-quality jobs in growing sectors.
Clean Energy Jobs. When President Biden thinks about climate change, he thinks jobs. To position the U.S. to tackle the climate crisis and advance environmental justice, the President’s plan would create good-paying, union jobs, establish an energy efficiency and clean energy standard, expand and extend clean energy and electric vehicle tax credits, and enlist a new Civilian Climate Corps.
Investments in Teachers and Schools. Even before the pandemic, our schools faced an estimated teacher shortage of 100,000, undermining the education of our children and students of color in particular. President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda will address teacher shortages and improve teacher preparation, including through teacher residencies and Grow Your Own programs that produce better outcomes and develop more teachers of color. It would expand free school meals to an additional 9.3 million children during the school year and help families purchase food during the summer. And the President’s plan also invests in upgrading school infrastructure, so that we have cutting-edge, energy-efficient, resilient school buildings with technology and labs that will prepare students for the jobs of the future.