The Infrastructure Bill Makes Building Back More Expensive
The U.S. government doesn't reflect on its spending history, and that shows.
In this week's Reason Roundtable, Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, and Nick Gillespie gather to berate one of the most expensive legislative packages in U.S. history and discuss some significant takeaways from last Tuesday's elections.
Discussed in the show:
1:52: That $2.1 trillion (yes, trillion) infrastructure bill that just passed.
20:35: Lessons from last week's elections.
29:05: Weekly Listener Question: I'm an attorney. All of my colleagues and I are fully vaccinated, yet we wear masks in the office. We are all required to be vaccinated. I hate it. Your response would be to find another job. I think Peter just had the audacity to suggest that switching employers is similar to going to a different restaurant because you don't like the spaghetti at the Olive Garden. For me, libertarianism is more than just a paradigm for government. It's a life philosophy. I am weary of the idea that anything goes, even if it's bad, as long as it only happens in the private sector. I am writing this email using a ridiculous pseudonym because I would not want my employer to know that I read and listen to Reason. They could fire me if they associate me with anything that looks un-woke; is this OK with you? Sure, I could quit my job. But any other job will have the same requirements. That doesn't really represent choice. Out here in the real world, you do not get to choose your job so easily. I do not have the option of being a professional libertarian. So I jab and mask, so I can keep making enough money to help my parents, no matter what I believe or what I wish to do with my body. This is OK with you?
41:53: The unveiling of the OSHA/vaccine mandate specifics.
51:58: Media recommendations for the week.
This week's links:
- "Biden gets his 'infrastructure week,' crossing another goal off Trump's to-do list," by Matt Viser
- "Self-Cancellation, Deplatforming, and Censorship," by Nick Gillespie
- "These 6 House Democrats voted against the infrastructure bill. These 13 Republicans voted for it." by Annie Grayer
- "Here's what's in the bipartisan infrastructure bill," by Katie Lobosco and Tami Luhby
- "Congress Finally Passed Biden's Inefficient, Deficit-Hiking Infrastructure Bill," by Eric Boehm
- "The Details of OSHA's Vaccination Rule for Private Employees Suggest Several Ways It Could Be Vulnerable to Legal Challenges," by Jacob Sullum
- "They Just Keep Closing Schools and Mandating Masks," by Matt Welch
Send your questions to roundtable@reason.com. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.
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Audio production by Ian Keyser
Assistant production by Regan Taylor
Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve