More Voters Think Biden's Build Back Better Act Will Make Inflation Worse Not Better: Poll
The results of a recent poll showed more voters think that President Joe Biden's Build Back Better legislation will make inflation worse, not better.
A new poll from Morning Consult/Politico released Monday morning showed 43 percent of voters polled thought the sweeping social safety net package will make inflation worse. That's compared to 26 percent who said the plan will make inflation better.
The findings come as the legislation advances to the Senate following passage in the House of Representatives. The bill passed the lower chamber along party lines last week, in a 220 to 213 vote.
The Build Back Better agenda is likely to face more of a challenge in the evenly divided Senate, as Republicans and centrist Democrats sound the alarm on its possible impacts on inflation and the national debt.
West Virginia's Joe Manchin, a critical vote for Democrats, has said he will not support any legislation that negatively impacts the economy.
But the White House is arguing that the bill will actually reduce inflation and help cut costs for American families after the Labor Department found consumer prices jumped by 6.2 percent last month.
The administration is touting a letter from 17 Nobel Prize-winning economists who said the legislation will "ease longer-term inflationary pressures" by investing in economic capacity.
Officials are also citing former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers's comments that Build Back Better isn't likely to worsen inflation. Summers was a top economic adviser during Bill Clinton and Barack Obama's presidencies.
"Our calculations and assessments, and those of outside economists, are that it will actually be — this bill will actually reduce the deficit, and it will also lower costs and reduce inflationary pressures," press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week.
Despite the White House's messaging, the poll found just 15 percent of voters think the legislation will have no impact on inflation.
The Build Back Better legislation includes $1.75 trillion to expand social programs and combat climate change.
Included in the House-passed version of the bill is funding for universal pre-K, child-care subsidies, an extension of the child tax credit, expansions to Medicare to cover hearing services and four weeks of paid family leave.
It would also devote about $550 billion to clean energy incentives and other programs to address the climate crisis. The biggest climate proposals include tax credits to expand renewable power investments and a tax credit for union-made electric vehicles.
Roughly half of the voters polled said they support the spending package, with 38 percent of respondents saying they were against the bill.
The bill has support from 80 percent of Democrats, 41 percent of independents and just 20 percent of Republicans.
Morning Consult/Politico surveyed 1,999 registered voters between November 20 and November 21. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
