Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the Committee to Unleash Prosperity released new research focusing on the most recent federal spending proposal (the “Build Back Better plan”), revealing the disastrous effects it would have on the American economy. Rather than allowing the economy to recover from the effects of Covid-19, the plan would crush the middle class under higher taxes, all while killing jobs and burdening future generations with new debt.  

“This Build Back Better plan includes large quantities of taxes, spending, and debt, which contributes to reducing growth rates for GDP, employment, income, and the capital stock. Over the next decade, this plan will result in conservatively estimated dynamic economic effects compared to baseline growth of 5.3 million fewer jobs, $3.7 trillion less in GDP, $1.2 trillion less in income, and $4.5 trillion in new debt,” said Vance Ginn, chief economist at TPPF. “Given these negative outcomes, Congress should reject the Build Back Better plan.”

“As the U.S. economy recovers from the government-imposed shutdowns, the nation is poised to repeat the rapid economic expansion of the 1920s, exactly one century ago. Pent-up demand, people’s desire to return to work, and a tremendous surge of investment in technology, coupled with several years of pro-growth policies of deregulation and tax cuts, support an economy primed for robust growth,” said E.J Antoni, economist at TPPF. “Conversely, the fiscal policies contained in the Build Back Better plan could instead cause a repeat of the 1930s, not the 1920s— Burdensome regulation, high marginal tax rates and disincentives on investment.”  

“It was bad enough when Congress always wanted to spend and tax more. Then they wanted to spend and borrow even more,” said Steve Moore, co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. “Now, they want to spend and just print money to pay for it. These “stimulus” plans only stimulate three things: government, inflation, and debt. More reason to kill the bills to save America.”

Key Points:  

• President Biden and congressional Democrats seek to spend another $6.2 trillion over the next decade, spread across at least two bills that comprise their “Build Back Better” plan. 

• This plan includes heavy taxing, spending, and debt, which contributes to reducing growth rates for GDP, employment, income, and capital stock. 
• Compared to baseline growth over the next decade, this plan will result in estimated dynamic economic effects of 5.3 million fewer jobs, $3.7 trillion less in GDP, $1.2 trillion less in income, and $4.5 trillion in new debt. 
• These taxes threaten to reverse the economic recovery, with families having less income and more debt. 

View the entire paper here.