More Lipstick on Another Pig

August 23, 2022

And that’s how they do it in Washington!

A few issues ago, I pointed out that literally no one in the US was concerned with the climate crisis given all the other more pressing crises they’re dealing with. So what’s a special interest-driven government to do? 

Change the “name” of the legislation, pare it down to a (large) fraction of its original size, and pawn it off as meant to address something that Americans are actually concerned with. 

Ladies and gentlemen: The Inflation Reduction Act.

(Face it… no one would have been for the Great Society if it was called the Program To Bankrupt America For Decades to Come.)

Pig, meet lipstick.

The Wall Street Journal saw fit to describe it a little more accurately.

If you’ve been following the news recently, I’m sure you’ve heard all about the legislation passed by the Senate and the House and signed into law by President Biden — the Inflation Reduction Act. 

How the two hold-out Democrats were somehow convinced that this bill was different and better than the legislation they had been standing against for the past year and a half, is beyond me. But it’s the law now.

Fighting Inflation — Washington-Style!

So how does this plan fight inflation?  You’ve probably heard most of the details but here’s a quick summary from the Wall Street Journal…

The initial measure, according to numbers released by Senate Democrats, would raise a total of $739 billion in revenue, and spend a total of $433 billion. It would reduce the budget deficit by roughly $300 billion over a decade.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) claims it’ll only save $102 billion over 10 years but we’ll forget that by the next news cycle.

The package will spend roughly $369 billion on climate and energy programs, including tax credits for buying electric and hydrogen vehicles and making energy-efficient home improvements.

No word on whether all that new green investment will be able to effectively replace the energy complex it aims to kill…

The deal will dedicate $64 billion to extending for three years the Affordable Care Act subsidies that first kicked in under the 2021 American Rescue Plan.

Yet another piece of government legislation we’ll be paying for forever. 

Elsewhere in the plan they squeezed $80 billion for the IRS to hire another 87,000 audit agents. 

The increased tax-manpower is designed to raise revenue by closing corporate loopholes, although some have argued they’ll mostly be coming for the middle class type who can’t afford a legal team to deflect the challenges to their returns.

Does This Really Fight Inflation?

The government’s eternal solution to any problem is to throw money at it — even inflation. 

This particular idea for “fighting” inflation includes giving away money in the form of tax credits and other rebates to those in the green industry. Most consumers wouldn’t feel that relief until next tax season.

More spending, opponents say, is what threatens to keep inflation on the rise. And it may to some degree.  

But mostly I think they’ve got it all wrong.

I see another flaw in this plan that no one seems to be talking about. One that I believe is not only going to explode inflation, but make its resulting higher prices a permanent fixture of our economy.

I’ll share the REAL threat in your next letter.

Make the trend your friend,

Bob Byrne
Editor, Streetlight Daily