U.S. gov't expects to play major role in economic growth: media

Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on March 25, 2021 shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden speaking during a press conference in Washington, D.C., in a live stream provided by Fox News. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The administration's sweeping plans reflect a calculation that "the risk of doing too little outweighs the risk of doing too much," says White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese.

NEW YORK, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The incumbent U.S. administration is pushing through an economic agenda with a belief that the government can be a primary driver for growth, reported The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

"President (Joe) Biden envisions long-term federal spending claiming its biggest share of the American economy in decades," and "the centerpiece of their program -- a multi-trillion-dollar proposal to be rolled out starting Wednesday, less than a month after a 1.9 trillion U.S. dollars stimulus -- seeks to give Washington a new commercial role in matters ranging from charging stations for electric vehicles to child care, and more responsibility for underwriting education, incomes and higher-paying jobs," said the report.

The administration has also laid the groundwork for regulations aimed at empowering labor unions, restricting big businesses from dominating their markets and prodding banks to lend more to minorities and less for fossil-fuel projects, said the newspaper.

These plans come at a time when federal debt is currently at a level not seen since World War II, it added.

Photo taken on Jan. 12, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"It's an attempt to recalibrate assumptions that have shaped the U.S. economic policy of both parties since the 1980s: the public sector is inherently less efficient than the private, and bureaucrats should generally defer to markets," said the report.

The administration's sweeping plans reflect a calculation that "the risk of doing too little outweighs the risk of doing too much," White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese was quoted as saying.

"We're going to be unapologetic about that," he said. "Government must be a powerful force for good in the lives of Americans."