This is when Democrats’ social programs die

A reader going by “Greg B” wrote in recently to protest the “topline” spending number for the Democrats’ now-moribund Build Back Better legislation. Democrats claim the bill would cost $1.7 trillion over a decade, assuming some provisions—such as an expanded child tax credit—expire after just one year. But the real goal is to keep those programs going with new legislation in the future, which means $1.7 trillion might be more like a down payment, with the real cost being a lot…