Manchin’s Deal Won’t Save the Democrats in the Midterms

Wall Street Journal Header

They’ll have to rely on unhinged Republican candidates to hold the Senate in November.

Hope springs eternal, especially among politicians facing an electoral wipeout. Democratic leaders and their media confederates quickly embraced the latest life-preserver: the recent deal between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) to resurrect the Build Back Better Bill.

The two senators slimmed down the legislative monstrosity and restyled it the Inflation Reduction Act. That nonsense label is worthy of a P.T. Barnum ad campaign. The Penn Wharton Budget Model predicts that the bill’s impact on inflation will be “statistically indistinguishable from zero.”

It isn’t clear this slimmer bill can pass, but already the Washington Post has trumpeted the hodgepodge of climate provisions, a three-year extension of ObamaCare subsidies, and price controls on some drugs provided through Medicare as having “the potential to change the narrative” of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Mr. Biden needs all the help he can get: His 38% approval rating in a late July Gallup Poll is down from the 40% average in the sixth quarter of his presidency, itself the lowest figure for any president since Gallup began routinely measuring in the 1950s.

So Democrats are pumping this latest Build Back Better incarnation big time, hoping it’ll be the life raft they need. A White House spokesman says it shows “Democrats have a plan to lower costs for middle class families.” Retiring Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos claims it gives her party “the Big MO,” while Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger proclaimed it will “change people’s lives.”

Such hyperbole won’t save Democrats; voters will see that the promises don’t match reality. Take California Rep. Mike Levin’s claim that the bill “will dramatically reduce costs for the average American that has to pay exorbitant prices for prescription drugs.” These price controls would apply only to expensive drugs with no generic competition offered through Medicare, starting with 10 such drugs in 2026. Consumers won’t feel any cost difference ahead of the midterms.

That’s a major problem for a bill claiming to ease the high prices fueling voter frustration. This $485 billion legislation won’t reduce inflation in the near term and could even make it slightly worse.

Like last year’s version of Build Back Better, the bill also has cost-hiding gimmicks. Take the ObamaCare subsidies that the American Rescue Plan extended for a year. The new bill would extend them for three more years, though Democrats almost certainly intend them to be permanent. This “temporary” extension allows Democrats to pretend this measure would cost only $65 billion, concealing the $155 billion the expansion would cost for the rest of the decade. Voters didn’t like this hocus-pocus when Democrats tried it last year, and now they’ve also seen what unnecessary spending does to inflation.

The bill is also likely to harm growth with its $470 billion in revenue increases via new taxation. As Republicans will surely note again and again, that’s the last thing Washington should be doing during a recession. And so much for Mr. Biden’s promise never to raise taxes on families making less than $400,000. Analysis from the Joint Tax Committee says taxes on families making less than $100,000 a year will rise by $5.8 billion in 2023 and taxes on those making less than $500,000 a year will jump by $30.8 billion.

By Karl Rove

Read Full Article on WSJ.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

Trump Should Support Israel in its War to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Program and Topple the Regime

Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military targets presents an opportunity for the US to assert its strategic interests in the Middle East.

Air India Flight 171’s Odd Crash Anomalies

Those looking at the early video of the Air India flight AI171 crash had 3 different ideas of what caused it, but were there problems with the scenarios?

Senate Duo Pushes Total Pharma Ad Ban Bill

Will MAHA cede the moral and political high ground to Sanders and Dem party and allow them to lead on vanquishing the pharma-media industrial complex?

Death and Politics

Demonizing our political foes stokes fear in the minds of us all, and in those minds whose grasp on reality is tenuous, it pushes them to act in terrible ways.

Political Future Shock 2029

If Democrats take control of govt after Trump, they will have learned from him that they can radically change govt and will cause more Future Shock.

Democratic Leaders Call for Increased Security Funding After Minnesota Shootings

Jeffries and Schumer cite rising threats and political violence...

Toy Companies Ask Supreme Court to Take Up Challenge to Trump’s Tariffs

Educational toy companies asked Supreme Court to weigh in on Trump’s tariffs, potentially teeing decision on encroachment on congressional authority.

Trump Says He Will Likely Extend TikTok Divestment Deadline Again

President Trump said on Tuesday that he will likely extend the deadline once again for TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company ByteDance.

Nature Journal to Publish Files on Peer Review to Open Up ‘Black Box’ of Science

The scientific journal Nature is going to publish files showing the peer review process for all manuscripts moving forward, editors said on June 16.

Trump Leaving G7 Summit Early to Focus on Middle East, White House Says

President Donald Trump will leave the G7 summit earlier than planned, opting to return to Washington, the White House said on Monday.

Trump Touts US–UK Trade Deal Signed at G7

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the recently finalized UK-US bilateral trade agreement is “signed and done.”

Trump Calls Expelling Russia from G8 ‘a Big Mistake’ at Canada Summit

The president says Putin’s presence in the group could...

All Eyes on Trump as G7 Summit Begins Amid Middle East Tensions

President Trump arrived in Alberta, Canada for the G7 summit, marking his first major international leaders’ gathering in his second term.
spot_img

Related Articles