The Inflation Reduction Act Flim-Flam Biden touts it, though it has killed jobs and spurred inflation. By Steven Law
It isn’t surprising that President Biden is marking the Inflation Reduction Act’s first anniversary by traveling the country trying to convince voters that the law is working and the economy is getting better. Good luck to him.
A recent CNN poll found Americans still consider the economy the most pressing issue facing the country. More than half of Americans think the economy is bad and getting worse, and only 37% approve of Mr. Biden’s handling of the economy. Just 30% approve of his handling of inflation.
That doesn’t augur well for the credibility of Democrats and the legislation Mr. Biden promised would “reduce inflation at the kitchen table” and kick-start new economic growth. Every Democrat in Congress supported the bill. It should doom them in 2024.
Republicans must aggressively articulate what is wrong with the legislation. The most obvious point: After a year, the legislation hasn’t reduced inflation. Food and consumer costs are increasing again. Rent is going up too. Even Mr. Biden conceded that the title is a misnomer, telling donors at a fundraiser, “I wish I hadn’t called it that.”
His administration has admitted the act could cost Americans their jobs. Brian Anderson, executive director of the administration’s interagency working group on energy communities, says the law will hit workers in the fossil-fuel industry especially hard.
The fossil-fuel industry supports nearly 100,000 jobs in West Virginia and more than 350,000 in Ohio, two states critical to control of the Senate. Yet Mr. Anderson told the New York Times, “We’re standing right at the cusp of potentially still leaving them behind again.”
This isn’t parody. Mr. Biden is traveling the country championing a law he knows will cost Americans their livelihoods. Even worse, what U.S. workers lose through the legislation, foreign companies gain.
You might assume that American workers and companies would be the biggest beneficiaries of Mr. Biden’s signature legislation, but the Journal reports that foreign companies will reap the greatest benefit. Even firms with ties to the Chinese Communist Party could receive billions in tax credits under the legislation—all paid by U.S. taxpayers.
And the price keeps going up. Democrats told Americans that the act would cost $700 billion. It turns out that’s not even close. According to energy research firm Wood Mackenzie, the law could cost $2.8 trillion—four times the price quoted by Democrats.
With this legislation, Mr. Biden and the Democrats sold hardworking Americans a bill of goods. They promised an economic panacea; what we got is looming job losses and higher prices. The more that voters learn about this law, the less likely they will be to support the politicians who enacted it.
Mr. Law is CEO of Senate Leadership Fund.
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