Why the Covid Relief Bill Is a Progressive Triumph
We need to acknowledge the Covid-relief bill for what it is: a $1.9 trillion achievement, the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades. As James Surowiecki explains on GEN, the bill’s hefty price tag is perfectly suited to our current moment — one where the unemployment rate is down to 6.2% and the economy appears poised ready for a post-pandemic rebound. The bill also features a number of targeted provisions — child tax credits, rental and homeowner assistance, and full coverage of COBRA for recently uninsured workers through September, to name just a few—that represent huge progressive swings.
“If you compare it to the stimulus bill that Democrats passed in 2009, soon after Barack Obama took office, the Covid bill is more than twice as big and far more progressive in its impact,” Surowiecki writes.
