Biden's Rescue Plan: exemplary resolve?
Valued at roughly 1.6 trillion euros, the "American Rescue Plan" for combatting the Covid crisis passed by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday and signed into law by US President Joe Biden on Thursday is one of the biggest economic stimulus programmes of all time. The debt-financed package primarily aims to help the poor, families, communities and schools. The majority of Europe's media are impressed and hope the plan will have a positive impact on this side of the Atlantic, too.
Stimulus for the whole world
Biden's stimulus package won't just benefit the US economy, the Financial Times believes:
“A booming US economy means economic demand will 'spill over' into the rest of the world, particularly its nearest neighbours and most important trading partners Mexico and Canada as well as export-oriented economies in east Asia and Europe. ... If the OECD is right about the impact of Biden's stimulus programme - and there is good reason to think it will be - then a stronger US economy will help to drive a global recovery. It would be even better if the world no longer had to rely on just one source for stimulus and other rich countries were similarly ambitious.”
Implement the recovery fund now
La Repubblica hopes Europe will take Biden's relief package as its model:
“The 1.9 trillion dollars released yesterday by Joe Biden to address the emergency caused by the pandemic should be seen not just in a national context, but as part of a global response to the economic crisis. ... There's no doubt that America is moving much faster in absolute terms - especially in 2021 - than the European Union, its member states, and most of the G7 countries. ... The moral of the story? The time to accelerate European fiscal union is now, not in 2022. We have to make the 'recovery fund' 'structural' as soon as possible.”
Debt has to be paid back
Such a gigantic stimulus package carries huge risks, warns De Tijd:
“Buying growth the way Biden is doing now comes at a cost. Especially when it's accompanied by rising interest rates. Then financing debt becomes a problem again - one that the central banks have long swept under the carpet. Countries whose national debt is too high will be presented with the bill sooner than expected. That's why Europe should hurry up with its own stimulus plan. A healthy economy is the best way to absorb rising interest rates and finance debts. Not the money printing machines of one central bank or another.”
A couple of years of inflation would be manageable
Echo of Moscow focuses on the question of whether the Covid relief package could push the US into a dangerous inflationary spiral:
“The answer to the question of whether we will now see inflation - meaning not just a temporary spike in prices, but a serious and long-lasting acceleration in price growth - depends on how the Covid relief package is perceived. If it is seen as a one-off measure due to the one-off Covid-19 episode, then there is no risk of inflation. The US central bank can withstand a rise of two to three percent for a few years. However, if it comes across as a transition to new approaches in fighting poverty (and the current payments set a new record for this), then there will be long-term consequences.”
He knows what he's doing
One look at the relief package will tell you that Biden has been underestimated, Politiken believes:
“Joe Biden is the American president with the longest political career in Washington of recent times. Whereas his predecessors had little or no experience in Washington when they took office, Joe Biden has half a century of experience. ... He understands like no other how the Senate works, and now he's shown that he can box through extensive projects even if the Democrats only have a slim majority. ... This week Biden made it clear how decades of experience can be used to create a better future.”