![]() ![]() But over the years, this objective has been gradually but increasingly distorted and the process misused, as the growing deficits and unsustainable accumulation of debt clearly demonstrate. The intent of the reconciliation process is aligning budgetary objectives with spending and tax policy-with the goal of decreasing the deficit. Therefore, major actions such as those contemplated in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget bill need to be carefully evaluated and transparently debated, not as short-term stimulus and relief in a crisis, but as a multitrillion-dollar budget bill that advocates and critics alike describe as a once-in-a-generation transformation of the role of government in the economy. ![]() Even though progress is threatened by a number of factors, including the easily transmissible Delta variant, the economic recovery at this time appears on track. ![]() Our fiscal and monetary policymakers took vigorous action to offset the economic jolt of the business shutdowns in response to the pandemic, and the economy has recovered more rapidly than most economists projected at the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak. The public debt is growing unsustainably, and the acceleration of that growth caused by the reconciliation bill (with its budget gimmicks) will work against the leverage of its individual components in moving the economy in a favorable direction. The sheer mass of the bill carries significant disadvantages. And the Democratic House and Senate leadership’s decision to use the reconciliation process for this massive budget bill expedites its enactment, but with the adverse side effects of making the bill and the process less transparent and obviating the need for careful committee consideration and bipartisan cooperation and support. The actual cost may be much higher because of budgetary “smoke and mirrors.” At that size, the reconciliation bill would be among the largest single pieces of legislation ever enacted, and so would have at least the sheer mass to move the economy and significantly increase the role of government. But the House version of the bill (the only version partially made public) is said to undertake $3.5 trillion of gross new spending or tax cuts over 10 years. The precise contents of the bill are still under negotiation. Congress is considering a budget reconciliation bill that is touted as a transformational change in the role of government in the US economy. ![]()
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