Michael R. Strain, Columnist

Biden Won't Regret Compromising on Covid Relief

The economy and the nation would gain, not lose, from a scaled-down plan that can win some Republican support.

January 25, 2021 at 5:32 PM UTC

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

Vaccines, yes. $1,400 checks, no.
Photographer: Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

President Joe Biden has laid out an ambitious agenda to support the economy and fight Covid-19. But he is running into opposition from both Republicans and some moderate Democrats in the Senate. He faces a choice: craft a bipartisan compromise, or try to muscle a bill through the chamber on a party-line vote.

He should choose compromise. Biden can give the economy the support it needs without getting all $1.9 trillion worth of spending in the proposal he released earlier this month — and he can do it while building, not depleting, political capital. If more economic relief is needed in the future, he’ll need political support.