Finally, the Democrats Look to Be Getting Out of Their Own Way

The Democrats are on the verge of passing the "Inflation Reduction Act" which will devote $300 billion dollars to deficit reduction and another $369 billion to energy and climate change reform. Combine that with the $62 billion infrastructure bill passed last year and finally Congress is putting their money where their mouth has been for years. This will be a historic affirmation of our nation's resolve to try to address the self inflicted nasty nest we live in.

Some experts contend this bill could result in a 40% reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2030. It is a small victory from the environmentalist bucket list and maybe an overly optimistic projection, but at least it is movement in the right direction. 

The bill also addresses an issue that is very much in the present. 

The cost of drugs in this country is out of control. Big Pharma has been able to rake in outrageous profits by incessant lobbying and supporting politicians to stack the deck against the citizens in need of medicine. The bill will open the doors to allow Medicare and Medicaid, the two largest buyers of drugs, the ability to negotiate drug prices with Big Pharma. Caps on out of pocket payments for medicine are included. The price of Insulin will be capped at $35 per month. It also includes a myriad of real benefits to citizens and not just corporations who want us to believe they too are citizens.

And finally what may tickle me the most; included in the bill is a 15% tax on corporations posting $1 billion or more in income. Combined with a 1% excise tax on stock buy backs and the coffers of the US treasury should enjoy many billions more in tax revenue. Finally a tax bill targeting the segment of our country who should be paying more. 

I won't call it "their fair share" as I feel that wording is loaded with too much emotion. I make no apologies for insisting corporations and the uber rich pay more in taxes. They cry unfair and I say so what. They enjoy the benefits of conducting business in a country with an infrastructure uniquely constructed for doing business. They enjoy the benefits of having one of the most dedicated working populations in the world. It is time for Corporate America to stop bleeding our country dry and pay reasonable taxes that will help our country regain the ground lost because of Corporate Greed. Turning a profit is not a great business strategy if it leaves its workforce behind.

Trickle down economics was proven a loser when it first was introduced back in the late 1800's. But for some reason the Right, at the behest of their owners, the big corporations, regularly champion it as a new radical idea. This bill begins to cut through the smoke and mirrors Big Business and the Billionaires have been able to hide behind. Anyone who is against this bill is nothing but a tool of the White Wingin Right and their owners, Corporate America.

The GOP was happy to spend roughly $2.3 Trillion dollars and 900,000 lives over 20 years for our failed military exploits in Afghanistan and Iraq.  That was money we pissed away with no possibility of any beneficial return down the road. Nothing, Nada, the money is just gone. And the 900,000 lives? Well, no one seems to even consider their loss as anything but the results of the fog of war. Oh well.

Yet now the mental giants of the Right are whining about a relatively paltry $725 or so billion being spent on policies and measures with possibly life changing benefits in the next decade. They talk about the "hidden costs". They talk about the hidden agendas of the Left being bolstered by money snuck into bill. Where were they when the costs of our failed Middle-East policies came due. Where was their outrage when  corporate buddies lined their pockets with lucrative private contracts doing what should have been done by the military in the first place. What a sleazy clown show the Right has become. 

The Inflation Reduction Act will result in :

• 40% reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2030
•  Result in over $700 billion dollars in revenue in the next decade because of a 15% tax on the richest corporations posting more than $1billion dollars in profits and a small excise tax of 1% on stock buy backs.
• Result in a more favorable negotiating position with Big Pharma and save as much as $79 billion over the next decade.
• Capping out of pocket expense for drugs and put more money back in the economy and not just continue to pad the already overflowing pockets of the legal drug trade.
• Insulin costs will be capped at $35 per month and will help the 7.5 million diabetics who currently spend $334 to $1,000 per month on insulin now.

One fellow I know who is against anything the Democrats conjure up contends that this bill is just another Left Wing Progressive gonna turn us all into commies bill that hurts the country in the long run. The only people or entities affected by this bill are the ones who have been getting a free ride for far too long. If it hurts them, I can live with it because in the long run it helps more of us than they will ever amount to.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ...............................................

______________________

Music for this post. Hmm ...........  Has to be "Money for Nothing" , by Dire Straits. I know the tune is about rock n Roll stars, but it has always reminded me of Corporate America in that they spend more time shifting their wealth from one rocket to another while not doing or creating anything. Hence,"Money for Nothing".

edited- 8/8/2022