AMAC Exclusive – By Andrew Abbott
A new report from Goldman Sachs confirms what conservatives warned all along – Democrats’ “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) is actually just another enormous spending bill that will blow out the deficit in service of a far-left agenda. And despite the Biden administration’s attempts to distance itself from negative headlines, the IRA and policies like it are continuing to wreak havoc on the U.S. economy, affecting everything from persistently high inflation to ongoing instabilities in the banking sector.
According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of the Goldman Sachs report, “Democrats used accounting gimmicks to claim the partisan law would reduce the budget deficit.” But now, the investment giant “projects [the IRA’s] myriad green subsidies will cost $1.2 trillion—more than three times what the law’s supporters claimed.”
The reason for this discrepancy is the Biden administration’s loose interpretation of the conditions that must be met to earn tax credits outlined in the bill and the fact that the credits aren’t capped. In practice, this means that companies can vacuum up a virtually unlimited amount of federal dollars for a modest investment in so-called “green” infrastructure and production technology.
In addition to increasing the deficit, the Journal reports that the IRA will raise energy costs for American consumers because “Oil and gas companies will spend less on increasing production and more on developing carbon capture technologies, hydrogen and biofuels that are profitable only with the IRA’s rich tax credits.”
Blame for this bait-and-switch lies in large part at the feet of West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin, who brokered the deal on the IRA with President Biden last year.
In an op-ed for the Journal last week, Manchin subtly admitted that he’d been duped: “When President Biden and I spoke before Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act last summer, we agreed that the bill was designed to pay down our national debt and shore up America’s energy security,” Manchin wrote. “Yet instead of implementing the law as intended, unelected ideologues, bureaucrats and appointees seem determined to violate and subvert the law to advance a partisan agenda that ignores both energy and fiscal security.”
Senator Manchin further demanded that Biden “instruct his administration to implement the Inflation Reduction Act as written and stop redefining its credits and other subsidies” and “sit down with congressional leaders and negotiate meaningful, serious reforms to the federal budget.”
But given Biden’s record thus far, Manchin should hardly be surprised at Biden’s radical re-interpretation of the IRA, and shouldn’t hold his breath for a course correction. Since day one, the White House – and Manchin’s fellow Democrats in Congress – have been pushing the same big spending policies despite clear evidence that they would cause an inflationary spike.
Back in 2021, top Obama economic advisor Larry Summers blasted Democrats’ $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” as the “least responsible” economic policy in 40 years. Democrats continued their spending spree in 2022, including with the Inflation Reduction Act, which the Penn Wharton said at the time of its passage would actually cause inflation to increase – and that’s using Democrats’ cost projections, which have now been proven to be a gross underestimate.
In total, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the Biden administration has added more than $4.8 trillion to the deficit since taking office. Though inflation has come down from a high of over 9% in 2022, it still remains more than three times higher than the Fed’s target rate of 2%.
The drastic implications of inflation can be seen everywhere in the economy. 62% of Americans now report living paycheck to paycheck. In February, the Commerce Department assessed that consumer prices rose .6% from December to January, the fastest price increase since June last year.
The Federal Reserve has also been forced to raise interest rates in an attempt to bring down inflation, causing more instability. It was this in part that led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March and persistent fears about a broader banking crisis.
Yet in response to this crisis, Biden has only made things worse by directing the FDIC to backstop all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. This means the American taxpayer is potentially on the hook for over a quarter of a trillion dollars of additional debt.
Biden is also plowing ahead with his plan to forgive up to $20,000 of student loan debt for every American college graduate. Experts say the policy will cost $400 billion over the next 30 years and will do nothing to limit the cost of college. It will also make inflation worse.
On top of it all, Biden has just proposed a budget with an eye-watering price tag of $6.8 trillion. Just like the IRA, much of this money will be funneled to far-left special interests while American taxpayers are forced to foot the bill.
The spending policies pursued by President Biden and congressional Democrats caused an inflationary spiral, and their refusal to cut spending once inflation took hold has made it worse. Now, the country is facing signs of a broader recession and economic crisis for which Democrats once again are refusing to take responsibility.
Andrew Abbott is the pen name of a writer and public affairs consultant with over a decade of experience in DC at the intersection of politics and culture.
Anyone with half a brain knows the Democrat party of slavery has been against our constitutional Republic since it was founded. They were responsible for the Civil War, the KKK, segregationist policies and all the anti-constitutional welfare to buy votes.
Been lying day1 even with Trump in office then
I wish you took part in the medicare health plans! I am stuck paying for AARP because my United Health Care Med supplement is through them:-(. Prefer to use you but you don’t have the service I need
lies, lies and more lies! It’s what the DemonRats do best!
The demoncrats lied about the inflation reduction act. Wow! Imagine that! But come to think about it, when have they not lied?
Or course they lied. that is all the democrats do. democrats lie even if there is no reason to lie.
The corruption in the democrat party is 100%
Shame on you if you are just now figuring this out…
Gee, what a surprise. The piece-o-sh*t dems lied again.
Manchin is playing the good ol’ CYA game, knowing his constituents are going to hammer him for these failures ( or at least they should). He’s just like Marky-Mark Warner from VA: he tied the line and ‘sniffs Soros’ belt buckle’ like a good little Dem, but then howls the ‘Oops!’ line when it becomes apparent that the Communists’ once again are financial destroying this country, but then neither Marky-Mark or Manchin EVER do anything of substance to make amends.
What would you expect. As soon as a democrps lips atart moving they are lying!
Picture this: Jack*ss Joe Biden wearing a Court Jester hat with a caption reading: “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!”
“Biden, Democrats Lied About “Inflation Reduction Act””. Really?? This is a headline?? This as big a headline as “The Earth is round”, or “The sky is blue”, or “There are only two genders”.
ILLEGITIMATE INCOMPETENT BOOB!
ALL THESE ARTICLES NEVER TREACH THE ONES WHO NEED TO READ THEM. dEMS IN THE 40’S AND 50 ‘S USED TO BE BAD. nOW THEY ARE ROTTEN. kYLE L.
The Democrat nazis would never lie, cheat or steal! They are honest as the Devil, and we know that the Devil does not lie, just Eve about eating the forbidden fruit.
As usual, Biden and his supporters lied to the American people. Otherwise, the Biden administration
would totally alienate even many of our most apathetic citizens. The Biden administration has taken the art of political spin to a new level of unethical behavior. Basically, Biden and his cohorts have propagandized our political system to the point that almost nothing can be believed. Usually, when Biden and his cronies open their mouths they’re either lying or they’re spouting off illogical fantasies.
The corrupt media supports all of this destructive behavior and we have a perfect storm of dysfunction and destruction. Even the Republican leaders who are not very good at pointing out the many lies spread by the Biden administration are now in a very strong position to help many more Americans realize that they have been played for fools.
If the stumblebum, the dims and most “R”s open their mouths, they’re LYING. No surprise here. There is no longer ANYTHING that the dc sewer says or does that surprises me…or I believe. NADA.
LOL!!! Big surprise…NOT!!! Biden lied yet again. However, the IRA was available on-line for anyone to read for several days, if not weeks before it was passed by Congress and sent to the idiot in the WH to sign into law. The entire bill read like exactly what it was: A mini–Green New Deal spending bill with a whole lot of new taxes and regulations layered on top to partially pay for the whole mess. Along with a number of new federal government programs to monitor and enforce compliance.
The IRA had NOTHIING to do with reducing inflation. That was just the laughable title the Democrats in Congress slapped on the bill knowing the vast majority of the American public and almost all members of Congress don’t ever bother to read any of the legislation Congress writes before ramming it through. Oversight by the public only works if the public actually does its part and keeps up with what Congress is trying to do. Sadly, most people are way too apathetic to do anything but complain after all this ruinous legislation has been enacted into law.
Yes, the Democrats under-estimated the cost of the bill by at least a factor of three, but they do that on all progressive spending legislation going back decades. The Goldman Sachs estimate is actually a bit low per my back of the envelope calculations using what the true costs were in Europe when they enacted many of these same policies. If anything, you can add another $500 billion to $1 trillion dollars over the 10 year period based on what most European countries have ended up spending on this boondoggle so far. So as I said over the weekend on the last Climate Change article, the American people should prepare to dig deep to pay for the changes that are now in the pipeline of “green energy” and Climate Change headed our way. By the time the 2024 elections roll around, I expect the United States to be in a far worse place than we already are today.
When did they tell the truth about anything, Never, never, never!
When their plan is to destroy America this is what they do. The WEF are in charge and not Brandon nor the Congress is capable of stopping this.
Brandon policy has always been to throw money and more money at a problem. This is what he did with all the bills he got passed. The population is becoming poorer and poorer and soon the dollar will fall, banks will fall and all money the people have will be worthless.
This Trump indictment is to distract the people to what is really going on.
It is too bad the RINOS don’t see this.
We are witness to the destruction of America and no one objects.
It’s obvious Manchin didn’t read the bill (did anyone in congress?). He knows those guys and still took them at their word? So he’s complicit.
Manchin should have realized that if dopey’s lips are moving he’s lying.
I’m SHOCKED, shocked I tell you, that the Democrats lied! They cannot be compromised with. To them, the end justifies the means. They must be defeated.
And the consequences are, well none, because our so called politicians have done nothing to put an end to this deception along with msm doing nothing more than covering up. IMO
lt seems to me that Biden and Democrats lie about everything all of the time!! They don’t think that we can handle the truth and, truth be known, we can’t because if we knew what they were really doing and planning, we would get rid of all of them!!! They misnomer every bill so that we will think that they are doing something for us but they aren’t – they don’t care about us at all!!! They only care about their personal wealth and power – period!! Inflation isn’t getting better because the bill had absolutely nothing to do with inflation except to create more inflation!!!
First you enforce the policies that create the inflation and than you pass the act to reduce the inflation Communist regimes locked the opposition in the mental institutions where they were subjected to mental torture Now we know what it’s like
It’s actually the fiscal black hole creation act. Brought to you by the masters of newspeak.
Tell me when the democrates haven’t lied?
I said from day one to call it the
‘INFLATION INCREASE ACT’.
And I was right.
It is getting to look more and more like the old Soviet Union. Everybody is in charge, but nobody is responsible.
I’d say the Republicans need to refuse to raise the debt ceiling until an agreement can be made on a balanced budget.
Mr. Manchin is quite the lier to claim a bill he wrote had to be reinterpreted to do exactly what we said it would do.
LYING BIDEN.
This is just so Demorcrat…call a bill an uplifting and cozy moniker, make is thousands of pages long to no human could read it in the time allotted to avert the “crisis” invented to be solved by said bill, and voila, another Dem lie.
What, Democraps lied to us?! My gosh! So, what’s new? Democraps have been lying to the American people for de4cades. And Senile Joe has only RARELY told the truth about anything. Although, it’s interesting that Mitch McConnell at first claimed to oppose the IRA (Inflation Rejunification Act), then proceeded to lead a pack of traitorous Republican senators in voting FOR that piece of Toro Poopoo.;
Why not, they lie about everything else. They must be stopped!
Democrats’ “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) is actually just another enormous spending bill – I’m Joe Biden and I did that!
What I want to know is what is, all of a sudden,the dems lie. they have lied exhaustively since Obama left and while he was in the WH. This is nothing new. They cannot tell the truth; it is not in their vocabulary. They choose to lie and nobody does anything about it. Quit griping and so something like vote them all out. Mark my word: there will be cheating in the upcoming election, so get ready. A lot of the GOP congressmen and governors are RINOS. They need to be canned in the next round. We Americans who still believe in our country need to kick the bums out and get a new stare; otherwise we may not get another chance.
This is the one Joe Manchin authored with Schumer and stabbed his constituents in the back. Now his pants are on fire as truth comes out and his re-election is approaching.
DICTATOR Beijing biden is having his HHS Plan to Prioritize Organ Transplants Based on Skin Color.
NO BS.
Pure DISCRIMINATION.
Congress must not raise the debt ceiling. The MAGA republicans must stay strong. This is their only leverage. The American Marxism has infiltrated every high level position in this Country.
What haven’t they lied about for the last 60 years or so?
Manchin is either a dupe, a clever imposter or a liar. In any case, the people of West Virginia should dump him.
You don’t need to be a genius to know how Biden and his cohorts caused inflation.
He have spent far too much money that America does not have and hence has to borrow MORE!
Obama increased America’s debt to 20 some trillion (more than all the previous presidents combined) and in the short time Biden has been in office, he increased our debt to 30+ Trillion. Meanwhile he has the Fed printing more money, night and day to keep up the money supply in synch with debt. That dilutes the worth of every dollar, and is called inflation.
Manchin sometimes stood up to Biden and others in his own party, when he felt what they were selling, was against his constituents and America’s best interests. I believe he was duped by them and now has regrets that he fell for it.
The “Inflation Reduction Act” is a lie, it is just the opposite, it increases inflation for every American and we all feel it at the grocery store, the gas pump and everything we have to pay for to live.
WE should not be spending Trillions, just a short time ago budgets were in Billions not Trillions. Nobody has a clue how much a Trillion dollars is! It is too much to comprehend.
We should not be spending such crazy amounts for wars against our enemies or giving it to “friends” fighting “proxy” wars against our enemies. Nor should we give away or deplete our Strategic Oil Reserves for any purpose other than a national emergency of America.
America has helped too many for too long and we owe no one anything!
Reduction call it whatever you want but you lied as always
Every Democrat in Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) should be fired and be sent home with their heads between their legs in the coming 2024 election!! This country don’t need these Communists any longer and should be sent back to China and/or Russia and be barred for life to put their feet on our soil ever again!!!
You have to figure that anything that comes out of a democrats mouth is the opposite of what they are saying. Lies, Lies And more lies!
The left lies.
The left lies all of the time.
The left lies all of the time about everything.
Joe Manchin probably screwed himself out of re-election after falling for Biden’s lies.
FJB
Amen and amen to mojo’s comments! Let’s stand up to these Queers and transgenders that are ruining our country!
Arm yourselves and go after these abominators ! This is what the second amendment was written for.