Yesterday’s Inflation Reduction Act was passed by the Senate. The Senate approved a huge spending bill in accordance with reconciliation rules. It was passed by 50-50. The bill will create a huge amount of new deficit spending, provide massive handouts to climate change initiatives, as well as add tens to thousands of IRS agents to harass the lower- and middle-class taxpayers.
Curiously, however, journalists and politicians who praise the passage of the bill don’t mention its name: The Inflation Reduction Act.
This was something I mentioned on Saturday when CNN’s John Harwood called Sen. Marco Rubio a “garbage bill”. But Harwood isn’t the only one.
Senate Democrats pass bill with largest climate investment in US history and measures to lower health care costs. It heads to the House.https://t.co/w02zl6sHbB
— CNN (@CNN) August 7, 2022
We did it. We passed the biggest climate bill that any country has ever passed. It is the reason I came to the Senate. The fight goes on, but for the first time, the American government is taking action that is equal to this moment.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 7, 2022
It’s done: The Senate has passed the Dem climate and health care bill 50-50, with VP Harris casting tie-breaker. Been long, long and winding road, capped by grueling 15 hours of votes on amendments. Dems stuck together to the end.
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) August 7, 2022
It’s been a long time coming, but the Senate has finally advanced transformative climate legislation. Thank you to Senators Schumer and Manchin and to every Senator who fought to ensure that climate action was a priority in this bill. Now to the House and to the President’s desk!
— Al Gore (@algore) August 7, 2022
I could go on, but this is a clear indication that there was no Inflation Reduction Act.
This is Build Back Better 2.0. This is a handout for the IRS to allow Democrats to fund their pet projects of harassing and fleecing small business owners and middle-class Americans. It’s a handout for upper-class Americans who wish to switch to electric cars. It’s a handout for pet companies that make these vehicles.
It is giving huge subsidies in times of high inflation and increasing taxes during recessions. This is an infringement of fundamental economic principles during a period when the economy has been extremely unstable.
The bill was the result of Democrats working with each other to reach an agreement. There was no Republican input at any point. Even Lisa Murkowski, the most liberal Republican senator, couldn’t be convinced to support the bill. It was never anything else than the Affordable Care Act, which was the final passage of a Democrat bill that included Democrat ideas but no attempt to get bipartisan support.
You’ll remember that Trump supporters were motivated to dump Trump because they wanted to restore normalcy and bring the two sides back together. This was a convenient move for Democrats.
This bill will be passed by the House of Representatives and will reach the White House. It will be signed by him and it will reach the President’s desk. By the time the bill has any real impact on Americans, Biden likely will be out of office. Republicans would have to reverse this as soon as possible. They could, but it is not likely that they will.
This will have the greatest impact on the lower- and middle-class Americans as well as small businesses and all those whom Democrats claim they want to protect. This will affect you and me, but the wealthy and powerful will not feel any impact – except for the tax breaks they receive to purchase the most recent model of their electric cars that many of us cannot afford without the subsidy.
All this is happening, but the actual bill’s name, Inflation Reduction Act (or the Inflation Reduction Act as it is known), is not actually mentioned in the bill nor in its reporting. The Senate, Democrats, and their media allies did a great job.
