Could Joe Manchin Sink Joe Biden's Tax Bill?

If Joe Biden can’t get his tax legislation through before midterm elections, it’s unlikely he will be able to pass it at all. The situation in Afghanistan has lost Biden approval points in polls across the nation and since the midterm elections usually involve the sitting administration losing either the Senate, the House, or both, there may be no opportunity for him to push it through later.

The Senate, which is currently controlled by the Democrats, has proposed a $1 trillion infrastructure, which has bi-partisan support, and a $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill, which has been opposed completely by the Republicans and doesn’t have universal support from the Democrats.

The Democrats have imposed a September 30 deadline to vote on both bills at the same time. Joe Manchin wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal showing substantial misgivings for the human infrastructure bill.

This gambit of Joe Manchin not only threatens the human infrastructure bill, but also Joe Biden’s presidency.

Joe hints at the implications of both borrowing more money and printing more money in the article. Joe Manchin has been echoing many of the sentiments from David Walker, Larry Kotlikoff, and Maia McGuinness.

Joe Manchin warns about spending too much money when things are going well and what happens then when we have a real crisis on our hands and the coffers are empty.

Manchin recommends that Congress should pause on the budget reconciliation legislation to give everyone more clarity on the situation with the pandemic and inflation.

You should not push through legislation unless you have a full understanding of the implications of that legislation. If you can’t get your constituency to agree to raising the taxes needed, you shouldn’t be layering on additional unprecedented debt.

According to David Walker, the death of Social Security and Medicare accelerated by three years due to the impact of COVID-19 spending.

Joe Manchin has a pattern of putting up a lot of fight during the legislative process, but then almost always falls into line when it’s time to vote.

Given how well the economy is humming along, there is no clear and present danger to the country and this spending bill sets a very bad precedent.

The biggest issue our country is facing is our own fiscal irresponsibility.

The decision to vote for the two bills in tandem means that if there is any pause, then that is going to contribute to the perception of dysfunction and chaos, which is something voters do not like to see.

The danger of the pause is it could set off a cycle of failure. Delay creates the impression of chaos, making Biden and Congress less popular, in turn reducing the popularity of any bills they pass, and making Congress less likely to support them.

Joe Biden’s tax proposal is part and parcel of the $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill. If he can’t pass the bill, he doesn’t get the tax increases needed to pay for it.

The next two weeks will be instrumental in determining what happens to tax law in America over the next eight years.

 

Mentioned in this Episode:

Why I Won’t Support Spending Another $3.5 Trillion - wsj.com/articles/manchin-pelosi-biden-3-5-trillion-reconciliation-government-spending-debt-deficit-inflation-11630605657

Joe Manchin Has Put Biden’s Presidency in Mortal Danger - nymag.com/intelligencer/amp/2021/09/joe-manchin-pause-biden-presidency-failed-danger-congress-democrats.html