BIDEN SAYS $1.9 TRILLION JOBS PLAN AS AMBITIOUS AS SPACE RACE

President Joe Biden on Wednesday (Thursday, April 1, 2021, in Manila) 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, Steve Holland and Jarrett Renshaw reported for Reuters.

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.

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 includes $621 billion to rebuild infrastructure, such as bridges, highways and ports, and a historic $174 billion investment in the electric vehicle market that sets a goal of building a nationwide charging network by 2030.

“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 US 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.

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