Take a win

Democrats are losing the forest for the trees. What if I told you Congress (on the slimmest of margins) would pass the largest ever climate change investment worth 555 billion dollars? Expand Medicaid to uninsured Americans in states that had not expanded already? Enact Preschool and Childcare? Invest in housing, healthcare, home care, and education? Would you not say we won?

That is because we have. Despite the intraparty warfare and expectation setting, we are close to passing the largest expansion of the social safety net in my lifetime. We are one step closer to creating an economy and society that values and treats all people fairly. We should be excited about that. When we give 7 million more Americans access to Medicaid we are saving lives. Imagine the burden lifted off a family as they gain healthcare, healthcare we have expanded to include homecare and hearing. Imagine someone getting coverage for preexisting conditions, chronic illnesses, or the ability to catch something before it becomes terminal. This is a win!

What about education? Expanding childcare not only allows parents freedom to reenter the workplace but also helps children in early development. That childcare goes hand and hand with preschool. Education that will help young learners develop socially, emotionally, and academically in a structured setting. Education is a great way to mitigate much of the differentials children have at the start of K-12 education. These two things early childcare and preschool cultivate young minds by creating a healthy environment for children. This bill adds on the front end and the back end. By expanding Pell grants and investments in HBCU (Historically Black Colleges) you make college more affordable for students. This is a win!

But the part I am most excited about is the climate provisions. Some provisions continue tax credits for EVs. There are credits for consumers to install solar panels and credits for manufacturers to make them. What is also exciting is the effort to bring back manufacturing. The manufacturing of solar, and wind power is the future of energy. More importantly, it is the best way to support American manufacturing and the workers it employs. Because previously our energy transition had winners and losers and the government’s role should be protecting Americans. This does all of this and is a win!

There is so much more in this bill. From building affordable housing to a minimum tax for U.S. corporations this is a win and we should act like it.

(here is a nice breakdown from the Washington Post of spending by sector)