Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is a Model Republican
In his short news conference, he retreated behind vague financial catch concepts to justify his opposition to many highly desired progressive issues including public health and climate action. He also vaguely referred to unknown hidden costs. Unfortunately, his and Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema’s backing are crucial for Democrats to attain a 50 vote tie, to be broken by Vice President Kamala Harris.
He cited inflation, increasing the national debt, and the “shell game” “true” cost of the ten year budget reconciliation bill of currently $1.75 trillion.
But, what he didn’t mention is even far more important. He didn’t mention the many plans to tax the high earners or the very wealthy to make the bill pay for itself, and to negate the supposed increase in the national debt. He didn’t mention that the Trump Administration and the Republican Congress raised the National Debt by $7.8 trillion in just four years. He didn’t mention the $2 trillion Trump tax cut, that will go on for the rest of its decade. He didn’t mention that the support appropriations will handsomely pay off in much greater additions to the GDP and to the public welfare. These are expenses that the public strongly wants, and it is not his sole right to deny these aids to the public for their budget.
The timing of Manchin’s talk was quite clearly and maliciously timed to undercut President Biden’s influence on the COP26 commitments to take highly needed Climate Action. Manchin is still fighting to protect West Virginia’s dying mining of coal and its natural gas and energy production from those fossil fuels. He is raising the long term costs to the Nation and World of destruction and deaths from starvation, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, increased and more intense hurricanes, floods, forced migration, uprisings, sea level rise, and the destruction of coral reefs by ocean acidity and increased temperatures that birth fisheries.
As a senior and unofficial speaker for my senior friends and associates, the enhancements to Medicare and Medicaid for now more widely available and cheaper hearing aids are important. So are glasses and dental coverage. Lack of communication is one of the conditions that lead to the very expensive and debilitating mental degradation. The limitation argument of Medicare is far in the future where it is supposed to take place, but hasn’t come about yet. There are many ways to increase Medicare investments, especially when contributors will learn that more necessities will be covered. Also, increased health coverage leads to healthier people and lowered costs. A crucial case in the present bill is reduced cost of medicines, which is being opposed by Senator Sinema, who is representing Arizona’s Big Pharma.
Even without the covering taxes, the cost of $1.75 trillion to the estimated GDP of $289 trillion over the next ten years is only 0.6 of one percent. My lead economist, Paul Krugman of The NY Times, emphasizes that the current short term inflation, largely due to supply chain issues, may not last long. He also points out the the current interest on borrowing is actually slightly negative. So even the wall that Manchin is trying to hide behind is paper thin.
Manchin and Sinema have become Republican Shibboleths.
