Infrastructure Insanity

Democrats plan to up Biden’s price tag from $2.3 trillion to $6 trillion.

In the event that a group of U.S. senators cannot agree on committing enough money to a bipartisan infrastructure plan, Democrats are reportedly considering a $6 trillion plan of their own. It would probably be best described as a package full of progressive items wrapped in magical thinking paper.
Most people would consider $6 trillion a lot of money to drop on infrastructure. That's because most of us still have an outdated notion of what infrastructure is. In fact, for most people, the word infrastructure conjures up images of roads, bridges, dams, and waterways. But as we've discovered during the last few weeks of discussions, for elected Democrats, infrastructure can be so much more than that.
Not long ago, for instance, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., tweeted, "Paid leave is infrastructure. Child care is infrastructure. Caregiving is infrastructure." So it's not surprising to see Politico report that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., hopes to include an expansion of Medicare in the Democrats' plan. That expansion would include, among other things, a reduction of the Medicare eligibility age to 60 or even 55.
This $6 trillion Democrat-only plan is well above the $2.3 trillion plan proposed by President Joe Biden. But incredibly, both pale in comparison to the $10 trillion wish list floated by the Congressional Progressive Caucus. According to Politico, "Their list includes universal child care, lowering of Medicare eligibility age, a permanent extension of the child tax credit."
How will all of this be paid for, you ask? The truth is: It will not. The Biden plan would allegedly pay for its spending over a span of 15 years, with taxes levied on corporations and rich folks. Considering that they can't credibly tie the hands of future congresses for the next 15 years, it's difficult to believe that will happen. Meanwhile, the Democrats' alternative plan would only pay for half of its spending with tax increases on the rich. In other words, $3 trillion of that plan woul...