By Ray Cardello for August 9, 2022 Season 12 / Post 24

Bernie Sanders was honest, rare for a Senator when he said this bill was not accurately named. The Inflation Reduction Act will do nothing to change the trajectory of our rising inflation. The most optimistic say this bill will reduce inflation by .25%, but over two years. So much for this inflation being transitory. Inflation was 2% as Trump left the White House in 2021. Biden has given us the most accelerated inflation in history. Thanks, Joe.

Now that the Senate has passed the bill and Joe Biden is taking a victory lap, 69% of Americans say the economy is worsening. That is easy to believe if you have done any grocery shopping, filled your gas tank, gone to a restaurant, or got pricing on heating your home for the coming winter. Americans are hurting, and inflation hurts low and middle income most severely. Some in these brackets may have to choose between food and fuel come December, and you can forget about Christmas shopping.

The IRS gets $80 BILLION in this bill to hire 87,000 new agents. This move makes the IRS larger by employee count than the State Department, FBI, and the US Customs & Border Protection combined.
This expansion of the IRS will strike fear into every taxpayer, and the number of audits will skyrocket.

The list of Green Deal initiatives that will get a piece of the $300 Billion set aside in the IRA is too long to detail here. One thing to key on is the rebates available for solar panels, electronic vehicles, and energy-efficient appliances. Who benefits from the manufacture of these commodities? China is the correct answer, and it is ironic to remember how deep China’s claws are into our President.

It is bad enough that we were an energy exporter in 2020, but now we are importing crude. The IRA puts a new tax on imported oil. First, Biden cuts off domestic drilling on Day 1, and now he wants to add to the cost by adding a tax on fossil fuels, Just brilliant.

Just a quick sidebar. I am typing this as I watch the afternoon news shows on FOX, and they are dissecting this bill. With each revelation, it makes one angry to think of how brazen Democrats are when they spend our tax dollars. But I watched a segment on Biden visiting the area devastated by a flood in Kentucky. Biden is explaining he will ensure they will be stronger after the Government rebuilds the region. He is describing the need for a new infrastructure for getting fresh water to the area and how we can also provide access to high-speed internet for every Kentuckian. How tone deaf as these people just last every bit of their existence. Does he think scrolling the internet is paramount on the minds of people that have lost it all?

Congress, specifically Democrats, can put together monstrous pieces of legislation but are horrific regarding accountability. During the Pandemic, $122 Billion was allocated to get our schools ready to allow our children to return to their classrooms. Nearly two years later, 93% of that money is yet to be spent. That is almost $115 Billion floating in the system, and only God knows where it will eventually land.

The IRA moves to the House, where it will be debated, and more wasteful spending will be uncovered. The Democrats have the votes to pass the bill on to the President for his signature, but I hope the Republicans can do all they can to expose the IRA for what it is; a waste of $700 Billion that will leave us more in a hole and worse shape than we are today.