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The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Biden’s Big Economic Gamble

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The New Yorker

President, Barack, News, Politics, Wnyc, Obama, Lizza, Washington, Wickenden

4.33.9K Ratings

🗓️ 23 September 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Even before his election, Joe Biden described the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to reform the American economy. Now, after months of negotiations, Biden’s trillion-dollar infrastructure plan will soon come up for a vote in the House, and Democrats expect to pass an enormous social-safety-net package through budget reconciliation. At the same time, the federal government is approaching the debt ceiling, and a government shutdown could occur as soon as next week if a stopgap funding bill isn’t passed. The New Yorker staff writer John Cassidy joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss Biden’s attempt to create a more equitable economy amid some strong opposition within his own party.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hi there, I'm Lale Arikoglu, and this podcast is brought to you by Wilderness, a conservation-driven

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0:42.5

Yeah, eBay. Things people love.

0:47.5

This is the political scene, a weekly conversation with New Yorker writers and guests about politics.

0:53.7

It's Thursday, September 23rd.

0:56.2

I'm Dorothy Wickenden, executive editor of The New Yorker. Here's the simple truth. For a long time,

1:03.7

this economy has worked great for those at the very top. While ordinary hardworking Americans,

1:10.2

the people who built this country, have been basically

1:12.9

cut out of the deal, and I've said this from the time I announced I was going to run.

1:17.7

I believe this is a moment of potentially great change.

1:21.6

This is our moment to deal working people back into the economy.

1:25.8

This is our moment to prove the American people that their government

1:29.0

works for them, not just for the big corporations, those are the very top. As President Biden said,

1:36.2

since before he was elected, he has described the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic

1:41.2

as an opportunity to reform the American economy. Now, after months of negotiations,

1:48.1

Biden's trillion-dollar infrastructure plan will soon come up for a vote in the House,

...

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