Money is cheap, let's spend it: White House $6 trillion budget message

AP

The blueprint builds on a partial "skinny budget" the White House released last month that mapped out $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending.

Synopsis

The first comprehensive budget offered by Democratic President Joe Biden faces strong opposition from Republican lawmakers, who want to tamp down US government spending and reject his plans to hike taxes on the rich and big corporations.

By Reuters

May 29, 2021, 10:48 AM IST

WASHINGTON: The White House on Friday sent Congress a $6 trillion budget plan that would ramp up spending on infrastructure, education and combating climate change, arguing it makes good fiscal sense to invest now, when the cost of borrowing is cheap, and reduce deficits later.

The first comprehensive budget offered by Democratic President Joe Biden faces strong opposition from Republican lawmakers, who want to tamp down US government spending and reject his plans to hike taxes on the rich and big corporations

While rates on US Treasury securities have climbed off record lows seen at the height of the coronavirus crisis last year, the government's borrowing costs are still the lowest they have been in years.

Rouse said the economy was seeing short-term inflation spikes, fueled by the sharp growth in the economy, but projected it settling down to an annual rate of around 2% over time.

Increased investment would boost US economic growth, with the current conservative White House forecast calling for 2% gross domestic product growth in 2031, compared with the Federal Reserve's estimate of 1.8%.