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Thank you Heather for once again stepping back and reminding us of the arc of US economic history over the last 100 years. Eisenhower understood the world as it was. He understood service, sacrifice and purpose. And he knew how to get things done.

Ronald Reagan was an actor playing the role of gentle, good humored father while dismantling the social contract. He artfully sold trickledown theory which grew into Republican economic policy. While subsequently disproved, it continues to dominate Republican thinking. Another Big Lie.

Joe Biden appears to be taking the long view. He is listening to his better angels and using a lifetime of experience to guide him. He knows where he wants to go, but, headwinds prevent him from taking a direct course. Instead he’s tacking. While it takes longer, every sailor knows it’s the only choice until the winds change. I’m deeply grateful.

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I would love to hear the ghost of Ike respond to being called a "socialist" for being the most determined rebuilder of the USA after WW2 possible. My family was devoted to Adlai Stevenson--who was an amazing and humane man and a great political leader--but at the same time, after fighting the war and living in Japan for a year after it, my father came home to the GI Bill (Truman) which gave him access to universities he could have in no way afforded before the war and thence into a career that ultimately took him into the nascent space industry, designing the satellites that the world relies on for telecommunications to this day. My father, from a dirt-poor Greek immigrant family, had the kind of storied career that would have been unthinkable without the benefits of Ike's dedication to rebuilding (and building!) the USA's infrastructure. That my father then went on to champion civil rights, to fight for equity for all people, to retain his FDR-style democratic principles until he died last year was in part because he admired the determination of people like Eisenhower, whose cautionary tale about the growth of the military-industrial complex was ignored by his own party.

This is the beginning. AOC is right in that we need to invest far more in infrastructure than the 2 trillion identified in this plan, but she also knows (I hope) that the re-education of America is going to be a slow process, one that will have to drag 74 million people kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The Gormless Obstructionists will continue their campaign toward oligarchy and autocracy. What Dems need to do at this point is be like Katie Porter: whip out those white boards and be loud, clear, and specific about how they are harming the very people who vote for them in their frantic snuffle after the fundaments of the billionaires they really care about.

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Apparently I am a late riser at 5 a.m. I've used the past 45 minutes to read Heather's column and most of the comments already made. I think Biden's infrastructure plan, from what we know about it, is pretty good. It's priced at a level that most Americans, except elected Republicans, will accept. AOC wants more ($10 trillion) but that's ridiculous and would be viewed by most as extreme, a word often associated with her. Biden's moderate approach to infrastructure and other programs is smart and reflects the experience he's gained in five decades in government, something AOC does not have. I admire her for her passion, but I hope as she gains more experience, she will temper herself a bit and make her goals more realistic. McConnell - geez, what more can you say about him? - is going to try to undermine anything Biden and the Democrats propose. His interest is preserving himself and the fat cats who supply elected Republicans with money, as we are learning more of in his home state of Kentucky. Trump's comments? Way off base as usual. But who cares? His base? So what. As time goes along, I believe Trump will be more and more exposed for what he really is: a low-life, manipulative, womanizing crook. We already know that he puts the "boy who cried wolf" to shame, so the lying is just a part of his schtick at which you eventualy laugh. If you believe him, then do what should accompany that belief: get a sharpie and write "MORON" in large letters across your forehead. I truly hope Biden's plan passes. If Senate Republicans galvanize against it, they're only hurting the constituents they apparently don't care about anyway. They were against the relief package, they're against gun control, they're against anything that makes sense and gives their constituents better lives. But again, what do they care; they're in it for themselves. Well, I've had my bowl of Grape Nuts, granola, raisins and soy milk (what a leftist, socialist breakfast, eh?) so it's time to either go back to sleep (fat chance) or do something constructive. I have a backlog of trout flies to tie. I'll opt for that; it's relaxing and not at all controversial. By the way, I hope Derek Chauvin fries. Not something I'm apt to say, but what an evil monster he is.

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"Biden is making a historic gamble that Americans are tired of the past forty years of austerity and are instead eager for the government to invest in America again."

It's difficult to think of any nation that has blown trillions on undeclared wars for decades as a nation of "austerity." We've simply hijacked the fruits of productivity away from the producers and either blew them in lethal firework shows all over the planet or moved them into oligarchs' pockets-- who in turn moved much into hidden offshore accounts and away from the economy or the people. Biden is starting to lead as though he represents a government investing in the future of a nation as opposed to the recent experience of a president that represented a street gang shaking down a neighborhood the size of the U.S. No nation ever went bankrupt investing in its infrastructure or the well-being of its citizens.

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FERN MCBRIDE (NYC)just now

In this Letter, Heather is rocking with Biden. It is a beautiful night or shall I say morning? Biden's Infrastructure/Jobs/climate Plan is a colossal leap from broken to rebuild. He is a new man, too. I won't go into what many of us thought were his failures and weaknesses because he has become a revelation and the miracle we so need.

I cannot absorb and examine this feast before us yet because the murder/manslaughter case against Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd is at the center of me. This case is the trial of the country. Has there been a more important trial in your lifetime? The agony of Black people in this country for centuries was on the street where George Floyd had his last breath and in the courtroom where the witnesses, the store clerk, his family and the rest of us mourn.

At the moment, I am too swollen with emotion and weary to write on, but there will be more to comment upon as the trial proceeds.

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The Democrats need to show in chart form such things as with the corporate tax was before 2017 so that Republicans can’t hop on the idea that Biden is “increasing “tax rates to the extreme. They should also use charts to show when and how income has been re-distributed at least since the time of Ronald Reagan, the hero of so many Republicans. People need to *see* this to really get it. They should also point out, as Pete Buttigieg did to Judy Woodruff’s audience last evening, that the infrastructure improvements in the new bill and their costs would be spread out over a period of years. Too often, the public is presented with figures in the billions and trillions of dollars and assume that it will be authorized and appropriated in one year. A pill is much easier to swallow when it’s broken into smaller pieces.

When Buttigieg was asked about the criticisms of the progressives that Biden’s plan doesn’t go far enough, he said basically that we can’t do everything at once and that some things must be planned for later implementation.

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This is exciting and hopeful news! I just listened to Robert Reich’s 6 minute lesson on the Public Investment Deficit, and Biden’s plan seems to answer Reich’s call to invest in America. Wonderful.

https://youtu.be/wYU1aP2FmOM

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My father was a Ship's Master, unlimited tonnage on the open sea, and I have been familiar with the plight of American shipping for most of my adult life. In a nutshell, until the Viet Nam war the US Merchant Marine was a thriving enterprise with shipping contracts to every port and a large well maintained fleet. During that war, my understanding is the US Government commandeered the ships to run supplies to SE Asia, giving the shipping co.'s legal right to break existing contracts and take even more lucrative gov't. contracts. Which was fine for several years, but when the war ended and the shipping co.'s went back to their previous business contacts to negotiate new contracts, it turned out the actual freight hauling hadn't stopped for the American war, so those businesses found new shippers under foreign flags, which operated much cheaper! They would have gladly gone back to the US fleet, but were only willing to pay much reduced prices, which our ships couldn't meet. The issue being US flag ships run at much higher safety, labor, and environmental standards than flag of convenience fleets, and US merchant shipping saw a steep decline in its business, which it has never recovered. The Wagner Act requires any ship sailing between US ports be American flagged, and has been the last bulwark in maintaining a viable US merchant fleet for intra-coastal and Great Lakes shipping. That act often gets hammered on when issues with Puerto Rico come up, because it adds to their costs of bringing freight from the US. But it is a godsend for our domestic merchant

marine, a vitally important element of a strong nation.

I had the pleasure of stopping for my morning break looking out over the Atlantic Ocean while I read today's letter, before getting on to work. The ocean has always been a presence in my life. The line about Biden's infrastructure plan requiring US manufactured products be shipped on US flag ships in particular jumped out at me, and made me glad.

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Hooray!

With four decades of the lies about ‘trickle down’ and with the hugely unpopular former president and his tax cuts, I hope our fellow citizens will finally hear and understand that this administration has taken their most pressing needs to heart.

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It's so good to have a government again that works for the good of the nation.

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Thank you for silencing the noise and composition this with clarity. There's too much extraneous noise in many articles. We are very grateful for your hard work. This piece gives me great hope! Wouldn't it be grand if corporations pay their fair share. We pay 36% in income tax. Since July I had to spend $21,000 on Copays for Dental care. My husband had to pay $12,000 for Eye surgery. CITIZENS UNITED continues to allow corporations to act with impunity. How is it okay for my family to pay 36% while big corporations pay less and often nothing?Apologies for my digression.

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This could mean recovery for my little PR firm; think what it could mean for all of the other folks it puts back to work! And the implications of having the systemic improvements are huge, for all of us.

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When I listened to the President last night and heard the line, “It's time to build our economy from the bottom up and from the middle out” I thought Professor Richardson might have begun moonlighting as a speechwriter for the White House.

Inspiring words signaling a real change for the better.

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Conservatives always say "tax and spend" like it is a bad thing.

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This plan is inspiring. Yes, the many problems besetting our infrastructure shouldn't have taken decades to address. But Biden is showing he's hell-bent on ending the Republican-led disinvestment in America that has enriched that party's big donors.

Professor, your historical context helps so much to understand the importance. The nugget about President Eisenhower's experience in a 1919 transcontinental military convoy is fascinating. He's the first president I was aware of as a child.

Let's hope Democrats find the will to push the plan through, even a much-amended one. Besides helping so many people, it will help restore long-lost pride in the country. Biden cited the construction of the interstate highway system and the space race with the Soviet Union, which I'm old enough to remember fondly. The latter was extraordinary, especially for me growing up in Central Florida, and it gave me my first understanding of national pride.

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Finally a President who is thinking in the way of Eisenhower. Think of the economy as a household income. It has to meet the needs of the family food, shelter, healthcare, clothing, education, etc. Now think of that household income where a big chunk of it goes into the pockets of head of household and isn't available for the family's needs but rather sits in that pocket inert, gathering dust, or worse, feeds the appetite of the head of household for luxuries, fancy dinners, payments on the new car, etc. while the roof is leaking, the kitchen needs a new fridge, baby needs a new pair of shoes, and the like. Well, leaving a big chunk of the available cash coming into the house but misapplied to living high off the hog is like the tax cuts that the GOP dearly loves. The country goes to hell in a handbasket while a massive chunk of its income goes to the whim and benefit of only a few members of the household while the needs of the rest go begging. Go for it Joe!

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