MSU RED: An Economist's View of Biden's $1.9 Trillion Covid-19 Relief Plan

January 25, 2021

While Congress has already authorized $4 trillion for coronavirus relief, the White House says an additional $1.9 trillion is needed for Biden’s plan to pay for a national vaccination program, extend unemployment benefits, provide direct payments to households and increase the federal minimum wage. The proposal is already hitting skepticism in Congress, and administration officials worked through the weekend to bring Republican and Democratic lawmakers on board, Reuters reported. 

To make sense of the big picture on Biden’s big ask, RED turned to Kishore Kulkarni, Ph.D., distinguished professor in Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Economics, for his perspective on the relief plan, our uneven economic recovery and prospects for a stronger post-pandemic economy.