The United States is already in a recession or about to be in one, depending on who you ask.
Regardless, Americans are fearful at best and boiling with rage at worst. While numerous factors are responsible for inflation and the slowing of economic growth, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal contributed to the mess, as many economists argue.
The latest large spending bill to come down the pipeline is the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which is backed by President Joe Biden and is currently the result of a deal between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). The fate of the exact legislation in play at the moment hinges on moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who has yet to decide whether or not she’ll support it.
Of course, the $433 billion plan, is a ruse. A University of Pennsylvania-Wharton Budget Model determined that the bill would do nothing to get a handle on inflation, and it would actually make it slightly worse by 0.05 percent.
“The Act would very slightly increase inflation until 2024 and decrease inflation thereafter,” the study said. “These point estimates are statistically indistinguishable from zero, thereby indicating low confidence that the legislation will have any impact on inflation.”
Sure, the bill might have some aspects that Democratic congressmen can use in stump speeches when they return home, but the premise is flat-out dishonest.
As the fate of the proposal is essentially in the hands of both Manchin and Sinema, the conservative group Americans for Prosperity put out two scathing ads calling on the senators to oppose the legislation.
“Washington wasted trillions. Inflation is at a 40-year high. Prices have skyrocketed…hurting Americans. Now President Biden says they have a plan to fix it. Now Leader Schumer says they have a plan to fix it. Now Speaker Pelosi says they have a plan to fix it,” the ads begin.
“A $739 billion dollar tax hike that will raise prices & make American energy more expensive,” it continues. “Senator Manchin can stop it. Come on, Joe. Say NO for West Virginia.”
Inflation is at a 40-year high. Prices have skyrocketed. But Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden are set to slap a $739 BILLION tax on America. But @Sen_JoeManchin can stop it. https://t.co/W2OQI5MLAt pic.twitter.com/JcekOgKfIz
— Americans for Prosperity (@AFPhq) July 30, 2022
It’s simple. You don’t raise taxes in the middle of a recession. Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden are set to slap a $739 BILLION tax on America. But @SenatorSinema can stop it. https://t.co/W2OQI5MLAt pic.twitter.com/yYnrBL0evJ
— Americans for Prosperity (@AFPhq) July 30, 2022
The script is the same for the Sinema ad, but they swapped out the names.
Americans for Prosperity is the group that fueled the Tea Party Movement in 2009 and the early 2010s. Its grassroots-centric strategy arguably paved the way for the Trump era to some extent.
As a recession looms large once again, it would not be surprising if a Tea Party-style movement came back for round two.
It’s clear that the ongoing right-wing populist movement within the Republican Party has a significant overlap with the Tea Party, but the economic policies are arguably more liberal than they were years ago.
The Tea Party was rooted in fiscal conservatism, which is something that has fallen out of style with even the most hardline Republicans in recent years. Now, a lot of lawmakers do not even need to pretend to care about fiscal responsibility if a plan sounds good on paper. Hence, the aforementioned infrastructure bill received decent bipartisan support.
Will that Obama-era movement return? Who knows, and it will certainly look a little different if it does. Many populists might even consider fiscal conservatism antiquated and a product of the political establishment.
Still, fiscal conservatism needs to come roaring back as opposed to being just a bullet point for Republican candidates. It’s easy for a politician to say they’re against high government spending, but it’s another to actually fight back against it.