She Had Been Holding The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Hostage

And yet I hear every politician talk about taxing the rich but no one does it...........its politics as usual. I wonder how people would vote if they had to only worry about the people they represent and not the people who helped make tv ads saying they would tax the rich, hypocrisy.......and that goes for both parties

Its all about donations and the hidden agendas

 

As I said in the other thread this isn’t good but we have to weigh whether there is an overall benefit to this bill and I think it is overwhelming. Sinema has been a disappointment but I would rather have her voting for this than not havinf many of these provisions not go through.

This shows again how important holding the majority is and if Democrats could’ve just won NC and IA Manchin or Sinema wouldn’t matter as much.

 

Carried interest is awful but they did offset it with a new excise tax on stock buybacks. It's not like they scrapped the provision without replacing it. The current budget estimate is that the new excise tax will raise more money than eliminating the carried interest provision.

With that said, I'm over Sinema. I normally err on the side of supporting "moderates" because every caucus needs that balance. In comparison, not only did Sen. Manchin negotiate in a transparent way with Schumer and the White House but he's also been the lead spokesperson for the bill. Manchin is going on all the right wing and Sunday shows and defending the bill. He's putting himself out there and owning the whole thing and getting into fights with Fox News hosts. I have so much respect for Manchin given what state he represents and the fact that this bill is political suicide for him. He has real electoral reasons to obstruct this but he kept negotiating and came up with a final piece of legislation. Sinema on the other hand will probably get primaried at this rate. No one in Congress or in Arizona likes her and the Democratic establishment probably won't even defend her in a primary because she's made so many enemies.

 

What was the employment rate? Is that a recession? How do you not know when to STFU?

 

Sinema's changes were much less bad than I thought they'd be, and the stock buyback tax is a really good addition. It's insane and clearly just her helping out some donors that the Carried Interest loophole was a sticking point but whatever

Beyond that the bill is great. I don't actually know that it'll have more than a modest effect on inflation itself (more the Feds job anyway), but the climate stuff is great and the healthcare stuff is even better in there. And it even reduces the deficit! Seeing some fiscal responsibility is nice

Such a difference in the parties, it'd make sense to see Republicans actively against this if they actually had an alternative. I know they believe climate change is a hoax or whatever but if they had some sort of bill doing similar things with healthcare costs and with ways to fight inflation maybe they'd have an argument, yet the fact that they don't have any policy proposals basically means they are sitting here arguing for the status quo...the same status quo I keep seeing them complain about constantly. I just don't even understand what you are voting for if you vote for Republicans at this point, at least Democrats are doing things. Even getting more bipartisan bills than I thought were possible in 2022 done!

For such a "lame duck" presidency we've gotten more major bills passed in the last two years than any two year period I can remember in recent politics

 

Sinemabun hun so hot right now.

 

Sinema is nothing new in DC since Citizens United ruined our Democracy, but it's still shocking that even in a state like Arizona which has a solid blue voting base to tap into that can win you elections, you have something like her who just rubs the corruption in our faces. She blatantly has disdain for the normal democratic process and only seems to serve her billionaire donors. I guess at least she's honest about who she really cares about.... herself, and her donors.

Will voting for Skinny BBB keep her safe from a primary... probably not IMO, but even her donors probably told her yeah... you need to sign off on this or you'll get primaried for sure and we'll lose you as our puppet in Washington. I have no doubt she was ready to kill this bill, but her handlers were probably the ones who told her it would be counterproductive in the end.

 

Both of them were given religion by someone in leadership. On Machin it's amazing how he can go from so easy to dislike to like.

It's politics, you understand them wanting to hold on to office. He is in Republican territory, although that part of the country is up for grabs more than the South, it's still very capable of being solid red, socially and economic issues. So knowing his history the last few years, it's one thing to get religion, it's another to be out there pushing for very Democrat legislation

Lastly, I respect GHB so much for essentially giving up the presidency and raising taxes. Bill Clinton owes him for Clinton's economy. Bush Sr was an underated president, aside from Clarence Thomas

 

The retirees in Arizona apparently like those types

 

I've never disliked Manchin at all. He's been this way since he got elected in 2010. The difference was that back then, there were other Democrats of a similar mold so you couldn't single him out. You had senators like Mary Landrieu, Mark Pryor, Heidi Heitkamp, etc.. who all fit a similar profile. I frankly believe that Dems need people like him in the caucus just as Republicans need people like Lisa Murkowski. That balance is really important as it forces the caucus to really stop and build consensus.

All I ask is that politicians be transparent and for all his faults, Manchin is quite open and transparent in his behavior and outlook. Sinema is just a confusing enigma that doesnt understand PR or basic relationships.

 

Buyback provision was a decent replacement.

Good for them... Poking that bear when they know these limp dicked zombie corps are running up the bill with more planned buybacks while banking on another bailout in 23

cough... AIRLINES...cough

 

Never let perfect be the enemy of progress. But in this case, it wouldn't have made that much of a difference. IOW, it was nowhere near perfect to start with, and eliminating it was whatever.

 

It's a great replacement. Much more impactful.

 

I'm cautiously optimistic - I want a successful vote before I do any celebrating.

I wonder (I suppose I could Google this) if the IRA2022 has any structural issues the way PACT did, meaning that the House will have to revise it slightly to make its funding Constitutional. If they do, will Manchin and Sinema do an about-face and claim that can't support "new taxes?" Unfortunately, that would be in line with what they've done in the past. Manchin is probably less likely to do this, given that the bill is kind of his baby. But Sinema - as others here have noted - seems to be especially susceptible to big money whispering in her ear. If big money sees America's lack of understanding of a bill's Constitutional requirements as a means to kill this, they will and Sinema will be the assassin.

Still, I'm not totally cynical and really hope it will pass. And the moment it's clear this is going to become law, the Democrat messaging machine needs to promote the benefits of the IRA2022. Every Democrat running should highlight it in their campaigns and their media appearances. Similarly, that footage of the GOP bumping fists after the initial defeat of PACT should be in every Democrat election ad between now and November. The Democrats need to push their accomplishments to the point of being annoying, because low attention voters will otherwise be asking "What've Biden and the Democrats done for me?"

 

Will the percieved success of this bill hinge on whether it helps lower inflation?

 

Like i said in another thread, you don't really see too many people go from Green Party Candidate to ... future remora of private equity vampires, which appears to be her most likely outcome?

People change when they go to Washington - look at the entire GOP and their current state - but Synema's transition is just kind of batshit in its own special way because it both hurts her and her party and the country.

 

how does more spending reduce inflation?

 

It trickles down.