Discussion Biden fiscal policy

Based on the following summary and using your learning about macroeconomics so far in the course, is this a good direction for the United States?

What’s in Biden’s budget proposal?

The Biden administration is seeking massive funding increases toward education, health and the environment, while maintaining current spending levels on defense and homeland security, according to a budget request unveiled Friday. Excluded is mandatory spending, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Agriculture Department PERCENT CHANGE+16.0%T

The Biden administration’s proposal for the USDA places heavy focus on rural communities, with increased funding for broadband initiatives, water infrastructure,

Defense Department PERCENT CHANGE+1.6% The proposal for the Pentagon actually represents a slight decrease of about 0.4 percent when adjusted for inflation. The proposal is likely to draw barbs from Republicans, who want increases of 3 to 5 percent annually to upgrade the military, citing the U.S. military competition with China.

Liberal Democrats had called for cuts of at least 10 percent in defense spending, while the Trump administration had forecast spending $722 billion on defense if Donald Trump were reelected.

Education Department PERCENT CHANGE+40.8%

The increase of $20 billion for the Title I program represents a historic increase for a program that funnels federal dollars to schools serving a significant number of children in poverty. The proposal would more than double funding for the program, to $36.5 billion. That falls short of Biden’s campaign promise to triple spending on the program. Still, it would represent a huge increase, particularly because it comes on top of the rescue act, which just pumped $122 billion to K-12 schools, most of it allocated by the Title I formula.On higher education, Biden had promised to double Pell Grants, which help low- and moderate-income students pay for college. His proposal for a $400 increase to the maximum award, now at $6,495, falls far short of that. But it would increase spending on the program, now at about $30 billion, by $3 billion. He also would make “dreamers,” who came to the country illegally as children, eligible for the program.

Energy Department PERCENT CHANGE+10.2%

The White House wants to boost resources for the department with a sprawling portfolio that includes conducting physics experiments, running supercomputers and researching alternative forms of producing energy.

Environmental Protection Agency PERCENT CHANGE+21.3%

Biden is proposing a big funding increase to the agency that will be at the center of his administration’s fight against climate change and the disproportionate impact pollution has on poor and minority communities.

The boost stands in contrast to the deep budget cuts proposed under Trump, who tried unsuccessfully to eliminate several dozen agency programs altogether. Yet even under President Barack Obama, the EPA’s budget remained stagnant as gridlock gripped Congress.

Health and Human Services PERCENT CHANGE+23.1%

Biden has argued that the coronavirus outbreak has demonstrated the need to robustly fund the nation’s public health response.The administration would make new investments to fight the opioid epidemic after drug-related overdose deaths spiked during the pandemic and to ramp up the response to ongoing public health challenges like HIV/AIDS.The budget also calls for new investments in programs to address racial disparities in health care, reduce the risks of childbirth and support survivors of domestic violence.Biden also vowed to launch new research into the health effects of gun violence and climate change.

Housing and Urban Development PERCENT CHANGE+15.1%

Biden is proposing a large increase in funding to expand access to affordable housing, address homelessness, modernize deteriorating infrastructure in historically marginalized communities, boost homeownership and enforce laws against housing discrimination

Interior Department PERCENT CHANGE+16.3%

The administration’s proposal — nearly $5 billion more than Trump’s last proposal — marks a clear about-face from how the previous administration managed the nation’s land.