Last year, Democrats blindly supported a radical proposal by Joe Biden. This “Build Back Better” spending package was a socialist wish list of massive spending, high taxes, and expanded government. It would send our economy into a tailspin, ensuring we’d never recover from 2020.
But the only person in the party willing to stop it was Joe Manchin.
Biden mentioned reviving the agenda during his State of the Union. But the senator’s issues with it haven’t changed. Now, he’s offering his own vision for the plan, which is a far cry from what the left wanted.
From Politico:
Manchin said that if Democrats want to cut a deal on a party-line bill using the budget process to circumvent a Republican filibuster, they need to start with prescription drug savings and tax reform…
He envisions whatever revenue they can wring out of that as split evenly between reducing the federal deficit and inflation, on the one hand, and enacting new climate and social programs, on the other — “to the point where it’s sustainable.” […]
“And the social issues, we basically have to deal with those” with any money that’s left, he added.
Such a measured spending view is nearly the opposite of what Democrats want. And they are not happy.
From The Hill:
Senate Democrats are feeling exasperated with Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) latest proposal on a scaled-down version of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda that would leave out big social spending initiatives like expanded child care, universal pre-kindergarten, national paid family leave and long-term home health care.
Democrats are nearly rabid over Joe Manchin’s proposals for the “Build Back Better” spending agenda. Instead of rubber-stamping their spending wish list, he is suggesting much more moderate initiatives. Top on his list is tax reform and prescription drug savings.
From there, he thinks the government can “wring out” some money to cover climate change and social programs. But only “to the point where it’s sustainable.” So no “Green New Deal” for him. The radical social programs that most Democrats want are off the table, simply because in his plan, they are unaffordable.
Democrats are outraged that this moderate from West Virginia would offer a sensible alternative that seeks to limit the burden on taxpayers. It’s unclear just how effective Manchin’s plan will be. If Democrats ever got to the point of forming a new bill with his changes, it would take experts to crunch the numbers and see if it will actually help the country.
But will it ever get that far? Democrats are hellbent on fulfilling Biden’s socialist dream. Any changes to their massive spending might be a non-starter.
