Doom Loop of Despair…?
If you’re expecting to notice any material improvement in costs or living standards before November, well, that ain’t gonna happen.
- How the Inflation Reduction Act will (or won’t) affect the midterms, Washington Post.
By Gregg Wall (8-20-2022)
It was classic bait and switch.
It was classic Washington… run out the legislative clock, hand Americans a poor substitute for Build Back Better -- something called the badly misnamed, Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) -- declare victory, and campaign until the November midterms.
Amidst all the back slapping by Dems in Washington this week, there was very little mention that the IRA fell exceedingly short of the President’s and Dem party’s commitments to the American people: especially long-suffering children, families, and women. As described by some honest reporters and one or two politicos of the progressive mindset, the IRA was more notable for what it didn’t deliver: child tax credit, childcare, no Medicare for All option, long-term healthcare, family medical leave, affordable housing, tuition free college, student debt write-down, universal pre-K, and cannabis legalization are all still MIA.
That is to say, nearly everything that President and the Dems had promised on the campaign trail, especially that which is immediately beneficial to the American people, was absent from the newly passed bill. Even the widely touted green initiatives of the IRA … some $369 billion … are to be spent over ten years and are a mere fraction of the trillions in subsidies Big Oil receives, annually, globally. It tells you everything you need to know about this so-called centerpiece green legislation, when Exxon and Shell are said to love the spending measure.
This legislation comes at a time when the American people are in a state of crisis, with 60 to 70% living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck; when 33% of Americans, and climbing, are working in the Gig economy; and another 33% make less than what is referred to as a living wage ($15 per hour, that no member of congress could survive on). Consumers and labor are being gouged at the checkout line and at the gas pumps. The economy is teetering on recession, and for the bottom half, recession has undoubtedly arrived. Child poverty is ascendant, as is malnutrition. And lest we forget, Americans and some homeowners are being hammered by rising interest rates from the FED… perhaps a necessary evil to tame inflation, but only because congress has failed to enforce antitrust and fund a robust regulatory regime (against billionaires, big oil, monopolists, multinationals, and Wall St). The IRA is so wretched that robber barons, like Bill Gates, are said to have talked the archnemesis of the American people, Senator Manchin, into signing on.
For many Americans it was highly reminiscent of the Obama administration … when congress messed around for the better part of two years, burned up the legislative clock, and instead of delivering universal care, delivered the misnomer of all misnomers for legislation: The Affordable Care Act. Which Dems propped up/bailed out, under the IRA again this week, with more subsidies, corporate welfare for insurance companies and Big Pharma. In short, the IRA, the CHIPS ACT, and the bipartisan infrastructure bill are all reminiscent of ‘porkapalooza’ itself, Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Affordable the ACA is not, as it, combined with for-profit health care, is the most expensive health care system among the G7 nations.
The Dems haven’t learned a thing. If the IRA was such a great deal for Americans, his approval rating would be off the charts, but instead, POTUS Biden received a modest point or two bump. And virtually undiscussed in the MSM is how the Dems managed to land America in two new - money sucking - Cold Wars, in the Ukraine and Taiwan. To add insult to injury, and despite controlling both houses of congress, Dems have failed to codify abortion rights and expand & protect voter rights. Instead, choosing to raise money and campaign on their failure to act.
What will it really take for the POTUS to turn things around? A blizzard of executive orders that shows the President does care about the American people, democracy, and the fate of the nation.
The NY Times mentioned that the president may further strengthen the IRA - particularly the green elements - with executive orders. Why not go all the way and declare a national climate emergency and do exactly what the GOP has accused Dems of doing, but up until now have failed to do... and wage war against Big Oil & Gas with a retroactive windfall profits tax (to fund a Green New Deal).
That would be a really good start. If the POTUS wants to secure the house and senate, and perhaps make gains in November, Biden should eliminate student debt in its entirety. Dems would also do well to recognize that throwing money at a problem, like price gouging -- whether it be Chip manufacturers or Health Care utilities, et al. – does absolutely little to solve the problem. But rather, emboldens cartels, monopolies, and Wall St.
Subsidies just mean the monopolistic crime spree continues (see health care insurers and forever rising premiums); subsidies end up on multinational income statements; subsidies often end up as dividends and stock buybacks for a predatory few; subsidies do not address the cartel & monopoly problem. Forgive me for asking, but why do Americans tolerate this doom loop of despair: where congress feeds Americans subsidies, that further fuel monopolistic profits, profits that in turn are used to buy congress? Taking bold, consistent action on antitrust and strengthening America’s regulatory agencies would be another initiative Biden could deliver upon.
Calling congress out for its endless series of failures… particularly its inexplicable and relentless inability to address America’s laissez-faire, neoliberal industrial policy… would also let American voters know that Biden is serious about addressing real problems, that have a real impact upon the American people.
And the political pièce de resistance… now that congress is in campaign mode and busy raising money… call the bastards back into session, on an emergency basis, and demand that they pass BBB and address predatory price gouging. Given the reckless arrogance and self-regard with which the majority of congress persons hold themselves, such an act would surely raise Biden’s approval rating by as much as five points. Just by enraging members of congress.
The American people would love it.
Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2022
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