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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.

In the past week, the Biden-Harris Administration introduced their $2 trillion nationwide infrastructure plan as a way to upgrade and invest in our country’s future. This investment ranges from an increase in renewable energy sources to the improvement of roads and bridges. Not only will this directly contribute to fighting climate change and economic racial inequality, but this plan also provides thousands of jobs for Americans of all backgrounds.

Here is everything you need to know about the new infrastructure plan.

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How Will This Plan Be Offset?

By raising corporate tax revenues over the span of 15 years, especially considering companies and corporations that earn their profits overseas, President Biden hopes to utilize federal spending to address America’s social and economic challenges. He hopes this will motivate such companies to invest and produce more in the United States. The spending plan will take place over eight years, and this tax increase will help offset this spending.

Why Is This Investment So Significant?

The program, which was supported by both political parties in Congress, has been considered “the largest American jobs investment since World War II,” relieving the decades of stagnant federal investments. Not only will this program improve America’s physical infrastructure enterprises, but it will also increase our nation’s financial reputation as our economic competition with China continues to grow.

joe biden speaking at presidential campaign rally
Photo by Gage Skidmore distributed under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license

How Is this Plan Combating Racial and Economic Inequality?

Through strategic federal spending, the Biden Administration wishes to close racial gaps in the American economy by correcting previous spending efforts, such as the development of the interstate highways system that separates communities of color, or the presence of air pollution that directly affects Black and Hispanic communities located near ports or power plants. Additionally, a $400 billion spending plan was directed towards in-home care by “underpaid and undervalued” workers, the majority of which are disproportionately women of color.

What Can We Expect To See Over the Following Years?

The infrastructure spending plan covers a wide range of projects including transportation, affordable housing, manufacturing, and renewable energy sources. As a result of this program, the administration is providing thousands of jobs while also improving the physicalities of our infrastructure and transportation systems in America. Additionally, the spending plan contributes money to train workers, initiatives supporting labor unions, and home-care providers for disabled or elderly citizens.

Hannah Garand

U Mass Amherst '23

Hannah is currently an Honors Biology student who writes for the UMass Amherst chapter. Aside from her love of Cellular Biology, Hannah enjoys playing with her Covid-cats, tending to her copious amounts of plant children, and hiking various trails up North. Follow her Instagram to see pictures of her cats, her dog, and her lizard! @hanngarand
Contributors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst