One of the most important features of the Inflation Reduction Act — which makes massive investments in renewable energy to curb climate change, drives down prescription drug costs and more — is what it is not: an irresponsible spending spree pushing up the federal deficit.
To the contrary, Democrats paid for their big goals honestly, by increasing taxes on those who can most afford it, and managed to make a downpayment on helping balance America’s budget to boot. Estimates are that the revenue raisers will cut projected deficits by about $300 billion over the next 10 years. That’s not nearly enough to put the federal government’s books in the black — President Donald Trump’s fiscally irresponsible tax cuts, followed by huge spending increases to get the country out of COVID, made that all but impossible in short order — but progress is progress.
As nonpartisan budget sticklers at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget put it, “at a time of high inflation, soaring debt, and a willingness to duck the hard choices, those who persisted in finding a sustainable path forward have helped strengthen our fiscal foundation.” Good going, Chuck Schumer — and, yes, the oft-maligned Joe Manchin.
