News/Commentary

So, what’s she getting? Sinema turns on voters, joins Schumer, Dems to pass massive spending and tax bill

August 5, 2022 | | Print Article

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s bent the knee to Chuck Schumer and agreed to “move forward” with a nearly $1 trillion reconciliation bill, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, that critics say is poised to beef up the IRS, decimate American manufacturing, increase the cost of energy, raise taxes on all Americans, and worsen inflation.

The bill will specifically raise $739 billion in revenue through taxation and then spend roughly half of it on the Democrats’ schemes, including one to beef up the IRS.

In a statement released late Thursday, Sinema announced that she’s decided to “move forward” with the bill despite initial hesitation because she’s won the concessions she’d sought.

“We have agreed to remove the carried interest tax provision, protect advanced manufacturing, and boost our clean energy economy in the Senate’s budget reconciliation legislation. Subject to the Parliamentarian’s review, I’ll move forward,” she said.

The carried interest tax provision would have reportedly imposed a higher capital gains tax rate on private equity and hedge fund financiers.

It’s unclear how the Inflation Reduction Act will “protect advanced manufacturing.” According to an analysis from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation, 49.7 percent of the $739 in revenue raised by the bill will come directly from the manufacturing industry.

Writing for Fox Business Network on Thursday, businessman Sen. Mike Braun warned that the bill will have a “crushing effect” on American manufacturing.

“They should have called it the Manufacturing Reduction Act,” he opined.

(Source: Joint Committee on Taxation)

As for boosting “our clean energy economy,” as Sinema put it in her statement, this will translate to higher energy costs for all Americans, according to The Heritage Foundation.

“The [bill] goes on for hundreds of pages and details a combination of tax credits, subsidies, and regulations for the energy choices preferred by the D.C. elite, such as wind and solar, while increasing the costs to access more reliable, more abundant energy sources like gas and oil on federal lands,” the foundation notes.

In a statement of his own, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer celebrated Sinema’s capitulation and vowed to formally introduce the bill on Saturday.

President Joe Biden also released a celebratory statement.

“Tonight, we’ve taken another critical step toward reducing inflation and the cost of living for America’s families. The Inflation Reduction Act will help Americans save money on prescription drugs, health premiums, and much more. It will make our tax system more fair by making corporations pay a minimum tax,” he said.

“It will not raise taxes on those making less than $400,000, and it will reduce the deficit. It also makes the largest investment in history in combatting climate change and increasing energy security, creating jobs here in the US and saving people money on their energy costs. I look forward to the Senate taking up this legislation and passing it as soon as possible,” he added.

The statement contained flat-out lies, particularly about taxes.

The Joint Committee on Taxation, the Tax Foundation, and The Heritage Foundation have all found that the bill will raise taxes on virtually all Americans, including even those earning less than $10,000 a year.

A number of organizations, including Penn Wharton, Moody’s, and the Congressional Budget Office, have likewise determined that the so-called Inflation Reduction Act will either have only a negligible effect on inflation or, worse, exacerbate it.

“[W]e estimate that the Inflation Reduction Act would reduce long-run economic output by about 0.1 percent and eliminate about 30,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the United States,” according to the Tax Foundation.

“It would also reduce average after-tax incomes for taxpayers across every income quintile over the long run. By reducing long-run economic growth, this bill may actually worsen inflation by constraining the productive capacity of the economy.”

The CBO, meanwhile, has predicted that the bill will either marginally decrease or increase inflation.

“In calendar year 2022, enacting the bill would have a negligible effect on inflation. … In calendar year 2023, inflation would probably be between 0.1 percentage point lower and 0.1 percentage point higher under the bill than it would under current law,” the non-partisan federal agency has predicted.

The fact that Sinema has acquiesced to such damaging policies hasn’t earned her any fanfare. If anything, her decision has some Arizona voters reconsidering their support for her.

Look:

Vivek Saxena
Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles