Biden Economic Adviser: How We’ll Fund Biden’s Agenda ‘Not Tonight’s Problem’ and Options Will Be Discussed in Future

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” incoming member of the Biden administration’s White House Council of Economic Advisers Heather Boushey stated that deficit spending can cover Biden’s coronavirus relief package, so how to pay for Biden’s economic agenda is “not tonight’s problem, but it’s certainly something that we’re going to be talking about in the weeks and months to come.” And there are many different options.

Host Judy Woodruff asked, “And, finally, in a nutshell, what is it going to take in the way of higher taxes, higher revenues, in order to pay for some of these things that you’ve been describing? What income level is going to be hit and what kind of tax?”

Boushey responded, “Well, that is certainly a very important question. So, for right now, we can afford to spend this package through deficit financing. But you’re right. Moving forward, we’re going to have to think about the fiscal situation. During the campaign, the president-elect outlined a whole series of tax increases focused primarily on those at the very top. He committed to not raising taxes for those making less than $400,000 during the campaign, and making sure that we fix the tax system and make it more fair, while, at the same time, encouraging domestic production, encouraging businesses to produce goods and services here at home and to make sure that those workers are fairly paid. So, there’s a lot of different options there. That’s not tonight’s problem, but it’s certainly something that we’re going to be talking about in the weeks and months to come.”

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