Republicans really have no ideology anymore but for decades they fervently believed in the trickle down theory that insisted putting money into the hands of their rich friends was the best way to stimulate the economy. Tax cuts were their preferred method simply because it would also cause the government to fall short of revenue and then, presumably, be unable to offerany safety net programs for the middle and working class, which they insisted encouraged laziness and dependency. Progressive Democrats believed that putting money in the hands of working people and the poor would not only be a better economic stimulus it would also provide material support to people who need it — a win win.
The Democrats are almost always charged with cleaning up GOP messes and this time is no different. But they are doing it the progressive way this time with no delusions that they can somehow leverage the moment into some kind of “Grand Bargain.” They just passed the policy they think will do good, with very little compromise:
To jump-start the ailing economy, President Biden is turning to the lowest-paid workers in America, and to the people who are currently unable to work at all.
Mr. Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic relief package, which cleared the Senate on Saturday and could be headed for the president’s signature in a matter of days, would overwhelmingly help low earners and the middle class, with little direct aid for the high earners who have largely kept their jobs and padded their savings over the past year.
For the president, the plan is more than just a stimulus proposal. It is a declaration of his economic policy — one that captures the principle Democrats and liberal economists have espoused over the past decade: that the best way to stoke faster economic growth is from the bottom up.
Mr. Biden’s approach in his first major economic legislation is in stark contrast to President Donald J. Trump’s, whose initial effort in Congress was a tax-cut package in 2017 that largely benefited corporations and wealthier Americans.
It’s a huge bet on progressive, Democratic ideology. It will be exciting to see how it works.