The total budgetary impact of the reconciliation package is about $700 billion over 10 years (h/t to the below quoted article from NYT).
$70 billion is a lot of money – – more than the NIH and CDC budgets combined – – but it is not $3.5 trillion.
$70 billion is 1.1% of the federal government’s 2020 budgets ($6.2 trillion). That’s the cost of the reconciliation package that has the support of 48 Dem Senators: 1% of the budget. That’s it. 1% of the budget.
Recent OpEds have tried to make this point about the 10 year cost estimate.
the offsets the Democrats have presented to pay for the package total $2.7 trillion to $2.9 trillion, depending on what’s counted, reducing the net cost of the bill to 600 billion to $800 billion.
But 1% is so much easier to understand. Simple. Counting the offsets, it’s 1% of the budget.
And we’re getting substantial investment in people and quality of life. (Totally worth it for just 1%).
Focus on that single percentage and the policies (and stop talking about zillions).
h/t to CBPP’s Chuck Marr (for beating this drum)
and also h/t to Krugman (and bloggers on this site) for referencing the 10 year GDP outlook as critical context for a 10 year cost estimate.