PPI President Will Marshall:
Progressives' spending proposals are out of step with battleground voters

The House of Representatives is set to vote next week on President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. At stake is not just a stronger U.S. economy, but whether we still have a functioning democracy. 

In normal times, this bill wouldn’t be controversial. Almost no one disputes the need for a major infusion of public investment in modernizing America’s transportation, water and other common goods that undergird U.S. economic innovation and competitiveness. That’s why the bill breezed through an otherwise polarized Senate on a 60-30 vote in August. 

In the House, however, progressives are threatening to torpedo the bill unless they get a simultaneous vote on a “reconciliation” bill that would spend trillions more on social and climate programs. Critics have assailed this tactic as political hostage-taking, but it’s more like a murder-suicide pact, since progressives want a big infrastructure bill too.
 

Progressives' spending proposals are out of step with battleground voters
by Will Marshall
for The Hill

On the latest segment of Talk Policy, Director of Social Policy Veronica Goodman sits down with Dr. Chandra Childers, Study Director at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

Their discussion focuses on the concept of apprenticeships, its benefits for workers, and the historical context on the racial and gender makeup of these job training programs. 

How common is pollution in the United States, and what kind of practical impact does it have?  Economist Claudia Persico joins the podcast to discuss her new report for PPI's Innovation Frontier Project, titled "How Exposure To Pollution Quietly Shapes The American Workforce And Economy."

After listening, check out her recent report from PPI's Innovation Frontier Project.