Washington, D.C. — A new report published today by the Center for American Progress explains how the enacted American Rescue Plan and the proposed American Jobs Plan represent the start of the federal government’s bold investments to boost economic growth for all. The report argues that slow economic growth has marred the U.S. economy for two decades before the pandemic. Several factors, including massive income and wealth inequality, have contributed to low business investment, which has resulted in a marked slowdown of productivity growth for more than a decade.
The report, authored by Andres Vinelli, the vice president for Economic Policy at CAP, along with Senior Fellow Christian E. Weller, goes on to lay out key policy recommendations to reverse this trend and strengthen inclusive economic growth. Many of the recommendations are in the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan, and others would be further pivotal steps. Specifically, the authors focus on policies to support workers now and in the future and also expand the nation’s capital base and spur innovation.
Support for workers includes providing help for people to pursue the careers they want. These recommendations can be accomplished in several ways, mainly by Congress through legislation and the administration through regulatory and executive actions:
- Expand social insurance spending.
- Expand and enforce anti-discrimination and anti-harassment legislation.
- Build a comprehensive care infrastructure.
- Build a fair, humane, and workable immigration system.
- Provide health security for all Americans.
- Support food security and other policies that help individuals and families with low incomes meet basic needs.
- Avoid state-level funding cuts and invest in K-12 education.
- Boost public support for formal training, including but not limited to higher education.
- Create policies that help reduce inequality in order to boost growth.
Future legislative initiatives, such as an infrastructure and jobs package, need to make additional, explicit pro-growth investments to expand the capital base, boost innovation, and create more jobs. In particular, the weak economic position of many businesses and households means that the economic slowdown could last a long time. Such a package should:
- Include robust, comprehensive investments in infrastructure that boost national competitiveness, raise household incomes, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Target those communities facing sustained economic hardship.
- Support new environmentally sustainable technologies, advanced manufacturing, the care economy, and education.
- Use regulatory tools to create incentives for private firms.
- Include a suite of long-term tax incentives that promote sustained economy recovery through the transition to a 100 percent clean energy future.
- Significantly boost federal government support for research and development.
“President Joe Biden has laid out a path for real economic growth that can benefit all Americans,” Vinelli said. “To restore the American economy for the long term, Congress should continue to be bold, and we can increase the size of the pie and make sure everybody gets a fair share for the first time in decades.”
Read the report: “The Path to Higher, More Inclusive Economic Growth and Good Jobs” by Andres Vinelli and Christian E. Weller
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Jesse Lee at [email protected].