President Joe Biden spoke for 20 minutes on Sept. 16, touting his $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” plan: “I believe we’re at an inflection point” changing “the trajectory of our nation for years and possibly decades to come.” Most of that, it turns out, revolves upon funding the IRS sufficiently to stop what Biden calls the tax evasion by the wealthy of about $160 billion/year. Ending that will supposedly allow for “real, sustained economic growth … that benefits everyone, including working people and middle-class folks.” However, the growth he outlined was primarily more Medicare, more daycare and eldercare assistance, and negotiated drug prices.
Notable was that he did put a different spin on climate change. First he declared climate change a settled issue requiring no more debate. But rather than any mention of windmills or solar panels, he launched into “the crisis of extreme weather events that we’re seeing all around us.” Citing hurricanes in Louisiana, flooding in New York, wildfires in California and a severe drought in the Midwest, he said “extreme weather, just last year, cost the American public $99 billion in damage ... and the evidence is overwhelming that every dollar we invest in resilience saves $6 down the road—when the next fire doesn’t spread as widely or the power station holds up against the storm. We need to rebuild with resilience ... so roads are built higher, levees are built ... stronger; transmission lines are better protected, and so much more.” Infrastructure to counter nature—somewhat of a departure from the scripture of Sts. Mark Carney or Greta Thunberg.
