Biden’s economic plan and the state of the economy

Democrats are ironing out the kinks in their $3.5 trillion social spending bill, part of President Biden’s ambitious economic agenda. It includes funding for childcare, pre-K, paid family leave, climate change initiatives, community college and a Medicare expansion. But with slim majorities, getting both progressives and moderates on board is critical but becoming a challenge. This hour, we’ll talk about Biden’s massive plan, getting it through Congress, and how the Democrats intend to pay for it with The New York Times’ JIM TANKERSLEY. Then, we’ll discuss the state of our economy, which was heading towards a recovery before the Delta variant hit. We’ll look at how Covid-19 is affecting the economy, why we have simultaneously high numbers of job openings and relatively high unemployment, the risk of inflation, and what this all means for consumers, workers and businesses. We’re joined by MARK ZANDI, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, and HEATHER LONG, economics correspondent for The Washington Post.