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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2021
Contact:
Maddy McDaniel, Communications Director
[email protected] or 914-471-7716
ECONOMISTS: INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT OVERDUE, CRUCIAL FOR U.S. ECONOMIC SUCCESS
Center for Economic and Policy Research Senior Economist Dean Baker: “We’ve needed a package like the American Jobs Plan for a long time, now we have a President who is prepared to move forward”
Economic Policy Institute Research Director Josh Bivens: “With the American Jobs Plan, Americans 5 to 6 years from now are going to see a noticeably welcome change in the U.S. economy”
Center for American Progress Vice President of Economic Policy Andres Vinelli: “The overall effect of this package, including the corporate taxes, is likely to be that both public and corporate investment will go up”
73% of Voters, including 67% of Independents and 57% of Republicans, support the American Jobs Plan
70 Economists Signed a Statement Organized by Invest in America Calling for a Multi-Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Investment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a press call today hosted by Invest in America, economic experts discussed the need for a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure investment to boost the economy and pushed back on critics who claim raising the corporate tax rate would hurt American competitiveness.
Center for Economic and Policy Research Senior Economist Dean Baker, Economic Policy Institute Research Director Josh Bivens, and Center for American Progress Vice President of Economic Policy Andres Vinelli made the following statements on a press call hosted by Invest in America:
“There’s a lot to like about the American Jobs Plan, maybe the best part is that it takes an expansive view of what constitutes infrastructure,” said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute. “This plan is admirably ambitious and utterly worth doing. The waste of time and money that stems from dilapidated roads and public transportation, poor water quality, and expensive and unreliable electricity and internet is often easy to miss on a day-to-day basis, but when added up across everyone over time, it’s huge. With the American Jobs Plan, Americans 5 to 6 years from now are going to see a noticeably welcome change in the U.S. economy.”
“The idea that partially restoring corporate taxes would have a negative effect on the economy makes no sense,” said Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “If lowering them during the previous administration didn’t have any big positive effect, why on earth would we think that raising them back part of the way would have a big negative effect? We’ve needed a package like the American Jobs Plan for a long time, now we have a President who is prepared to move forward.”
“While the previous economic stimulus plan was the hydration that the body needed to recover from shock and starvation, the American Jobs Plan provides wholesome, balanced nutrition required to build muscle going forward,” said Andres Vinelli, vice president of economic policy at the Center for American Progress. “That means purposeful, large investments that enable the kind of healthy and inclusive economic growth needed to deliver high quality jobs for all. This plan focuses on boosting productivity growth and expanding the capacity of the economy to grow without igniting inflation, like an athlete growing muscle rather than fat. The overall effect of this package, including the corporate taxes, is likely to be that both public and corporate investment will go up.”
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