Good afternoon,
A study from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania is good news for the Biden-Harris Administration and backers of the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
CNBC reported the study shows the $1.2 trillion bills would actually reduce the national debt through added efficiencies in the movement of goods and continuing enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service.
The analysis contrasts with a previous study of a $4 trillion to $6 trillion infrastructure bill. That Wharton analysis showed the bill slowing down the economy, mainly due to higher corporate taxes and income taxes for wealthier Americans. The taxes would discourage investment and putting money into savings, the study claimed.
Ice cream and buses for Biden
President Joe Biden highlighted the bipartisan bill this week in a carefully orchestrated event in La Crosse, WI. the city was the second to the last stop in my journalism career.
Presidential candidates and presidents are no strangers to a city and area with an economy now centered on health care and education. It followed the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs.
Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan all paid visits to the area during my nine-year stint at the local paper now housed in a shoe factory converted to offices and apartments.
Their successors, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, also made stops.
I covered the shoe factory’s turnaround and Reagan’s speech. At the time, the future president claimed that trees caused more pollution than vehicles.
Despite the comment, the worst fears of environmentalists were not realized, with Reagan championing actions to deal with the ozone layer.
La Crosse, a city of 51,000 along the Mississippi River, was a comfortable spot for Biden, who won the county of the same name by a 55 to 42 margin over Trump. Those votes helped Biden eke out a win in the battleground state.
This week, Biden toured the bus barn for the area’s tiny transit system, which is about a tenth of the size of Delaware’s DART. Highlighted was the La Crosse MTU’s growing fleet of electric and hybrid buses.
Buses work well in the La Crosse area, thanks to the city and neighboring areas being wedged between the river and bluffs. Then again, getting people out of cars is a tough sell, given short commuting times and sprawl in the growing area.
Interestingly enough, spending for electric vehicles and related systems is markedly lower in the bipartisan bill.
Expect pressure to build for a separate measure that would address the nation falling behind the conversion to greener vehicles. Newsletter readers can check out the Business Reading List headlines below.
The president stopped by an ice cream shop near the city’s scenic riverfront to no one’s surprise. Based on a visit to the store a few years ago, it was a good choice.
Last day for General Assembly
Closer to home, we are counting down the final hours for the Delaware General Assembly’s 2021 session.
The heavy lifting is done with the passage of budget bills. Other issues, such as gun control bills, remain on the table and could extend the session past midnight. Marijuana legalization is dead for this year.
Stay cool. It’s a good night for outside grilling and staying inside – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
