Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan is much more than that

In Joe Biden’s mouth, “infrastructure” is a deceptively dry word. The US president’s plan to spend around $2tn on the stuff includes $400bn on care for the elderly and people with disabilities. $100bn will go on job training for disadvantaged groups. And this is before the second tranche of the plan, due this spring, which is expected to enhance childcare and rights to paid leave.

This is not, then, just a matter of polished airports and filled-in potholes, though America’s physical infrastructure, rated 13th globally by the World Economic Forum, will receive the bulk of the money. This is a wide programme of economic reform, which encompasses education and climate change abatement. Republicans do not misrepresent the president when they say so.