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đď¸ Build Back Better Act (BBB) â Overview
Purpose: To âbuild back betterâ after the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding child care, health care, climate investments, and family supportsâfunded by reversing parts of the 2017 âtrickle-downâ tax cuts.
đĄ Key Benefit Areas
| Category | Example Policies (proposed) | Estimated Federal Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Family support | Universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds; major child-care subsidies | â $380 B / 6 yrs |
| Health care | Lower ACA premiums; add hearing to Medicare; cap insulin prices | â $165 B |
| Climate & clean energy | Tax credits for EVs, renewables, home efficiency | â $550 B |
| Housing | Public-housing repair; voucher expansion | â $150 B |
| Education | Free community college (later dropped) | â $90 B |
| Child Tax Credit | 2021-style monthly payments | â $1.6 T if permanent |
𧞠Fiscal Philosophy
Middle-out vs. trickle-down. BBB aimed to invest in families, workers, and climate while increasing taxes on corporations and high-income householdsâfunding growth from the middle rather than the top.
Paid for by: restoring higher corporate rates, taxing capital gains like wages, and stronger IRS enforcement.
𧊠Outcome
- Passed the House of Representatives in Nov 2021.
- Stalled in the Senate amid cost and inflation concerns.
- Several pieces later appeared in the Inflation Reduction Act (2022)âespecially climate and health-care sections.
đ Printable References (copyable URLs)
- White House Fact Sheet (2021): https://www.whitehouse.gov/build-back-better/
- Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Cost Estimate (Nov 2021): https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57620
- Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget summary: https://www.crfb.org/blogs/build-back-better-act-cost-and-revenue-estimates
- Brookings â âWhat was in the Build Back Better Act?â: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-was-in-the-build-back-better-act/
Summary line: The Build Back Better Act (BBB) was a 2021 proposal to invest roughly $1.7 trillion in families, health, housing, education, and climate â paid for by reversing key âtrickle-downâ tax breaks.
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Back to Wealth Freed up by Ending Trickle Down