Biden wants to spend $100 billion to bring internet to “all Americans”
Joe Biden’s massive new infrastructure bill will prioritize internet expansions as one of its top goals, earmarking $100 billion to bring internet to “all Americans” by the year 2029.
Biden’s plan, which several details of which were released by the White House in a talking point memo Wednesday, reportedly seeks to reach “100% high-speed broadband coverage” across the United States.
It will do so while prioritizing broadband networks “owned, operated by, or affiliated with local governments, non-profits, and cooperatives.”
The initiative was sparked due to the disparities of access to internet being exposed by the COVID-19 shutdowns which required many Americans to perform their jobs and attend school completely online.
The Biden Administration wrote that the last year, “made painfully clear the cost of these disparities, particularly for students who struggled to connect while learning remotely, compounding learning loss and social isolation for those students.”
Biden’s plan aims to bring high speed internet to the 35% of rural Americans who lack access to internet at minimally acceptable speeds, calling it the “electricity of the 21st century.”
Biden’s team compared their mission to the 1936 Rural Electrification Act, which aimed to bring electricity to every home nationwide.
The billions in broadband funds include money set aside for building internet infrastructure on tribal lands.
Biden plans to pay for the multi-trillion dollar spending plan with raises in taxes, including an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, according to reports from Politico.
There are sincere concerns about the country’s ability to compete on the global stage if the corporate tax rate climbs too high. There’s a fear companies will hire fewer workers or even relocate overseas where rates are much lower. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called the tax hikes “dangerously misguided” in a statement on Wednesday.
Tucker Carlson blasted the infrastructure bill for only putting 5% of the funds towards roads and bridges in an Op-Ed published on Fox News, writing:
Only about 5% of that $2 trillion will actually go to roads and bridges. So, 5% on infrastructure, 95% on social engineering. That’s what Joe Biden calls a once-in-a-lifetime infrastructure bill. He’s right about part of it: It is once in a lifetime. If this passes, the next generation will life in a very different country.
Even the Washington Post reported that nearly 20% of the bill would go towards expanding caregiving for the elderly and disabled and another 13% would go towards subsidizing the US manufacturing industry with investments into green energy.
Republicans in Congress have criticized the bill’s plan to pay for the eight years worth of infrastructure over a 15-year tax window.
Brian Riedl, a top budget adviser to the GOP presidential campaigns of Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) called the plan a gimmick stating, “Paying for eight years of spending with 15 years of taxes is a classic Washington gimmick that always ends up proving to not work, by that logic, you can make the same argument that the 2017 GOP tax cuts are paid for.”
Biden said that the $2.3 trillion package is only the first part of a two-part plan. The second proposal will focus on spending on child care, health care, sick leave, parental leave and more. More items most Americans would not consider as “infrastructure” related items.
Do you think the Biden Administration is spending too much? Will their proposed tax hikes pay for all of it? Comment your thoughts below!
