Inflation and Misinformation

This past week, the U.S. Congress passed a massive spending bill covering issues from healthcare, the IRS, taxes and climate change. However, the bill boasts a whopping $740 billion price tag.

After months of amending, the final piece of legislation became one of the most extensive since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

On Monday, Aug. 15th, after the House and the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden officially signed the bill into law. As if $740 billion was not enough for massive government spending, the so-called brainchild legislation of Senate Democrats was first estimated to cost the country $3.5 trillion, according to an Axios article. 

One of the goals of the almost laughably-named Inflation Reduction Act is to inflate government spending, since Senate Democrats think adding subsidiaries to Obamacare will help do so.  The truth is, extending and increasing subsidies only increases demand, which then increases insurance premium prices, as an article from The Federalist puts it. Yes, Senate Democrats, because that certainly deserves the title of inflation reduction. 

In addition to aiding national health insurance, the bill also provides additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service, which Senate Republicans vehemently tried to get amended and removed. Although they ultimately failed to do so, almost all Senate Republicans still choose  not to vote for the bill based on that point alone. 

The funding for the IRS will add $80 billion to the agency’s budget over the next ten years. $45.6 billion of the funding will go towards “tax enforcement activities,” which includes hiring more IRS agents to enforce tax law and in turn,increase audit activity. If there is one thing the government will hold you accountable for, it’s taxes.

Arguably, the country may need a more functional IRS, but increasing audit activity causes concern for the ever-present principle Senate Democrats overlook: government overreach. The nation may need to accommodate, but could this cause concern for the future? 

Continuing the connotation of having no relation to inflation, the Inflation Reduction Act provides a massive $370 billion to be allocated to the fight against climate change, confirming Democrats’ motives of once again trying to force the country to go green and unnecessarily strain Americans’ pocketbooks. 

Compared to three years ago, the lackluster economy President Biden and Congress have initiated and influenced could suffer further underneath the Inflation Reduction Act’s additional “15% minimum tax on corporations making more than $1 billion or more in income”, according to a recent Axios article. As corporations eye overseas, where taxes might be lower, they could take crucial American jobs with them. At this point, the Inflation Reduction Act is similar to putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg, classical Democratic fashion.       

More and more it looks like the Inflation Reduction Act’s name was only a ploy to boost the grossly sagging image, poll numbers and ratings of the Democratic Party. While the country suffers under the worst economy since President Carter, instead of fixing the crisis, Democrat-controlled Congress feels the need to deceive the public with a deviously named bill, trying to prepare for what seems like an inevitable November midterm shock.