(CNN) As Congress considers his economic plan, President Joe Biden faces one overarching challenge: Taking money from people who have influence and giving it to people who don't is hard. Beneath the rhetoric about inflation and deficits, business investment and family farms, tax rates and benefit levels lies the volatile question of economic redistribution. Government attempts to do that trigger intense resistance from those asked to pay and amorphous skepticism even from some who would come out ahead. And whether polling shows the specifics popular or not, redistribution sparks existential dread among lawmakers who fear that voting for it risks their careers. Though much of the GOP's White working-class constituency would benefit from economic redistribution, Republican lawmakers rely on cultural appeals to their fear of displacement by non-Whites who would also benefit.

Source: CNN September 19, 2021 20:03 UTC