ECONOMIC EXPERTS UNDERLINE HOW BBB AGENDA IS FULLY PAID FOR, WILL GROW ECONOMY, AND EASE INFLATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 2, 2021
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ECONOMIC EXPERTS UNDERLINE HOW BBB AGENDA IS FULLY PAID FOR, WILL GROW ECONOMY, AND EASE INFLATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Economic experts, including in an open letter penned by 17 Nobel Laureates, have underscored how the Build Back Better Agenda would make critical investments that will boost economic growth and ease inflationary pressures in the long run. These much-needed, long-term investments are fully off-set by ensuring the wealthiest Americans and big corporations finally pay their fair share, and will spur economic growth and productivity as they help parents get back to work, improve our country’s education system, and address pandemic-induced supply chain backlogs by rebuilding America’s infrastructure.

Experts such as former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers have noted how the investments in the Build Back Better Agenda are the “right strategy” that will ensure the “economy’s capacity will go up,” while economists such as former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman have highlighted how the agenda would also put “downward pressure on inflation.” Others such as Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman have also underlined how these investments are “offset” by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.

Read more from leading economists on how the Build Back Better Agenda will boost our economy:

Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman: “But if the plan isn’t about stimulus, what is it about? Mainly investment — and that reduces the inflationary risks even further. Spending on physical infrastructure, both in the bipartisan bill the Senate has already passed and in the likely future Democrats-only bill, would alleviate the supply bottlenecks that have played a big role in recent inflation, while making workers more productive.”
Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman: “What about spending on ‘human infrastructure’? There’s strong evidence that aiding families with children will make America richer and more productive in the long run, but to be fair, those benefits would take a long time to materialize. Federal support for child care and universal pre-K would, however, also yield much quicker results, in particular helping more women enter the paid work force. This would expand the economy’s capacity, which is exactly how you want to fight inflation if you can manage it.”
Open letter from 17 Nobel Laureates, including Joseph Stiglitz: “Because this agenda invests in long-term economic capacity and will enhance the ability of more Americans to participate productively in the economy, it will ease longer-term inflationary pressures.”
Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody’s Analytics: “[M]uch of the additional fiscal support being considered is designed to lift the economy’s longer-term growth potential and ease inflation pressures. For example, consider the additional spending on new rental housing supply for lower-income households, which is critical to rein in rent growth and housing costs, or the efforts to reduce prescription drug costs.”

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