It's hard to argue with success. After all, Biden and the Dems have managed to pass $3.8 trillion in spending since Biden took office. Although, in fairness, the infrastructure bill was passed on a bipartisan basis. But now we have the reduced version of "Build Back Better," aka the "Inflation Reduction Act (I.R.A.)" But will it really reduce inflation? Not according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO states that the legislation will have "a negligible effect" on inflation this year, and may reduce inflation by 0.1% next year. Or may raise inflation by 0.1%.
This huge piece of legislation passed on a single party vote. It was 50-50 in the Senate, so the VP was able to break the tie. It passed 220-213 in the House. All the Dems were in favor and all the Repubs opposed. Was anyone on the left outraged by the bill being called the Inflation Reduction Act, when it will do no such thing? Of course not. Only Trump lies, not Biden. Maybe it was just a cute name. And does it concern anyone that major pieces of legislation are passed on single party votes? I thought Biden was going to be the great unifier.
The IRS, the most hated federal agency, is getting a huge amount of money with this law - $80 billion. That is enough, some say, to hire 87,000 new agents. $45.6 billion is marked for "enforcement." Newsweek reported that the IRS had originally posted listings for new job applicants that said they must "be willing to use deadly force." That requirement was removed. Recall that historically tax compliance was always considered voluntary. Sure, there were cheats, and there were audits, but the vast majority of filings were accepted at face value. My guess is those days are over.
The Wall Street Journal claims that, contrary to the Democrats' assertions, "the main targets (for audits) will by necessity be the middle and upper-middle class because that's where the money is." As the paper reports: "the super wealthy employ lawyers and accountants who make litigation time-consuming and risky." There is a new 15% corporate tax, which the Democrats never seem to acknowledge will affect all consumers, as corporations pass on their costs to all of us.
According to the Dems, $369 billion will go towards investments in "Energy Security and Climate Change." So what about climate change? According to climate scientist Bjorn Lomborg, "the new US climate bill will do almost nothing to reduce global temperature." His estimate? Anywhere from .0009 degrees Fahrenheit to .028 degrees Fahrenheit. It is easy to forget that China and India combined have over 1/3 of the world's population, and are perfectly willing to use fossil fuels when necessary to bolster their economic output.
In fairness, the law reinstates "the largest oil and gas lease in U.S. history," according to Fox. Specifically, Lease Sale 257 covers over 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. Unless, the Dems and environmental groups find some loophole to defeat this provision. The law does provide for a tax credit of $7,500 for the purchased of new electric vehicles. I guess people will need that given the cost of electricity that has been discussed on the social media app "Next Door." One homeowner complained of getting a bill for $1464.99, while another said her bill was $1800.
The bill does allow Medicare to negotiate the negotiate the price of some high cost drugs. Which causes me to question if the drug companies (derogatorily called Big Pharma by the left) will do less research and development, and therefore produce less life-saving drugs.
I would like to spend some time discussing Biden's other accomplishments. The record 2 million illegal entries into the US. The resultant human trafficking and drug smuggling when the border is not adequately protected. The record number of fentanyl deaths. The unknown number of terrorists who may have been able to sneak into the country. I'd like to discuss the real rate of inflation. The out of control crime. The homeless crisis. The reduction in our military readiness. Biden's bending toward the woke left, and helping to undermine respect for this country, at home and abroad. I'd like to discuss Biden's foreign policy failures. But time and space do not permit a discussion of these issues. Although, I will make an exception for one foreign policy disaster, for which you will need to see Part II.
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