Policymakers are apparently now targeting $1.5 trillion to $2.3 trillion of gross spending increases and tax cuts for their Build Back Better reconciliation plan. This is less than their prior $3.5 trillion target and much less than the $5 to $6 trillion of proposed policies hidden in the original $3.5 trillion framework. Rather than enact many temporary policies with arbitrary expirations, policymakers should aim to do a few things well – and at a lower cost when possible.
We recently published a paper in which we present two illustrative reconciliation frameworks – one with $1.5 trillion of policies and one with $2.3 trillion, both fully paid for. These packages are based on current political dynamics and do not represent our recommendations.
