Biden's Twilight Zone Presidency

There have been an avalanche of surreal events involving President Biden but none more bizarre than a White House celebration on inflation reduction on the very day his government announced an 8.3% hike in the cost of living.  It eerily resembled a Twilight Zone television episode.  

While touting the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden boasted that gasoline prices are down an average of $1.30 since the beginning of summer. However, the cost per gallon is still 25.6% higher than a year ago. Russia's Putin was blamed for the price hike, so, facetiously, does he get credit for the decline?

Gas prices are dropping because demand for fuel has faltered 4.4% this year.  Another contributing factor  is some states have suspended gasoline taxes which lowers the average cost of a gallon.  Industry experts expect prices to escalate again when the release of Strategic Petroleum Reserves ends this fall.

During his back-slapping speech, the president said; "We're getting other prices down."  Exactly which ones is he talking about?   A Department of Labor report released the same day recorded the largest food price increases since May, 1979--an 11.4% jump over the past year. 

Here's some examples of soaring food prices: Eggs, 39.8%; flour, 23.3%; milk; 17%; bread 16.2%; chicken, 16.6%; meats, 6.7%; pork, 6.8%, fruits and vegetables, 9.4%.  A industry report shows lower-income households in particular are skipping nutritional food items because of the inflated price. 

Utilities are rising, especially natural gas, which climbed 33% since last year. With winter coming, prices will spike. New vehicle prices are 10.1% higher than 2021 and rent continues to skyrocket: the nationwide average for a one-bedroom apartment has mushroomed 27.1%.

Asked if he was concerned about 8.3% inflation, the president responded: "No, I'm not because we're talking about one-tenth of 1%," an apparent reference to a dip in some prices. Be assured average Americans are not fist bumping in joy at the check-out counter at their local grocery store.

But, of course, he is not the only person in the administration that does not allow facts to stand in the way of dubious pronouncements. In an interview, Vice President Kamala Harris twice claimed the porous southern border is "secure." The sycophant reporter did not challenge her obvious falsehood.

She said the following in a television interview: "We have a secure border in that that (sic) is a priority of any nation, including ours and our administration."  You can't make this stuff up.  

The vice president's claim is particularly egregious considering she is the administration's official Border Czar.  She hasn't  personally visited the border, so she might be excused for knowing so little about the current crisis. Although you might surmise, she could find out if she wanted. 

Southwest border apprehensions in fiscal year 2022, which ends in September, have already hit 1.9 million arrests.  This is the highest number ever recorded since the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol began tracking apprehensions in 1925.  That doesn't fit the definition of security at the border.  

But Harris' statement pales in comparison to the whopper told by Biden's Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.  Questioned about border security, she replied: "It's not like people are just walking across the border."  What alternative universe is she living in? 

There is a large cache of videos showing immigrants not only walking across the border, but climbing fences, swimming and being ferried across the Rio Grande River in boats operated by Mexican drug cartel members. Swarms of illegals are coming because they know the border is open.   

Cue the Twilight Zone music.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen can always be counted to deliver a Rod Serling gem. (Serling was the creator of Twilight Zone.) She assured Americans for months inflation was temporary, even as the data showed the pressure on prices was continuing to mount. 

Then after two quarters of negative GDP growth, Yellen delivered a non sequitur by calling the economic decline a "transition" not a recession, ignoring the long-established definition.  Two quarters of negative growth denotes a recession.  

Now Yellen is backtracking again by admitting the country faces "a risk" of recession as it battles inflation.  Even if the third quarter delivers negative growth data, it would not surprise if Yellen updated the term to "extended transition." This administration knows no shame.

There are two conclusions that can be drawn from this Twilight Zone administration: Either President Biden and his team believe Americans are stupid or they are convinced their lies will be accepted as fact by a compliant media prone to echo the administration's narrative.

Whatever the conclusion, Americans are not entertained nor fooled by Washington's Twilight Zone episodes. 

Inflation Reduction Act: Another Biden Deception

Democrats' green energy boondoggle, disguised as the Inflation Reduction Act, unleashes $485 billion in new federal spending and tax credits in the middle of the highest inflation in 40 years. The legislation includes $468 billion in new taxes weeks after the nation officially plummeted into a recession. 

By enlisting the media's support, Democrats have successfully packaged the legislation as a climate game changer that will reduce the deficit.  The Democrats' political propaganda has been drummed into the national conscience.  Only one problem. It's mostly untrue.  

Here is a list of the most egregious examples of sleight of hand in the massive, 755-page bill that passed without a single Republican vote:

• Despite the administration claims, an independent review of the bill reveals the act will have "no meaningful effect on inflation in the near term." By reducing long-term economic growth, the bill may actually worsen inflation, according to another study.
• The act contains $80 billion in funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to double the size of the agency by recruiting and hiring of 87,000 new employees. Don't call these recruits "agents" because it offends the administration.
• Reforms in prescription drug pricing, billed as saving Americans billions of dollars, will have little or no impact for at least seven years. And it excludes those individuals with company provided insurance.  
• President Biden insisted the new minimum 15% tax on corporations was aimed at big firms that pay no federal tax. In actuality, the new law raises taxes on all corporations currently paying less than the 15% rate. 
• Hailed as revolutionary, the green energy section contains $386 billion in spending for so-called energy security and climate change.  Yet, $4.275 billion will go for rebate programs for consumers, including those on Indian Reservations, who install water pump heaters, electric stoves and ovens, insulation and ventilation.  

                                             Inflation Reduction

The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania estimates the Biden act will reduce inflation by around 0.1 percent by the middle of the first decade under this bill.  In addition, the new law would slightly "reduce GDP" in the first decade while  increasing economic growth by 2050. 

Deficit reduction is just a gleam in the eyes of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), especially after President Biden issued an executive fiat forgiving student debt for 43 million borrowers. Preliminary estimates are the costs will be about half-a-trillion dollars.  So much for deficit reduction. 

                                                IRS Spending

Originally, the president proclaimed the new IRS agents would go after greedy billionaires.  But when Forbes reported there were 735 billionaires, 87,000 new non-agents (insert laughter here) appeared to be overkill.  The new party line is the IRS recruits will zero in on taxpayers making over $400,000.

Anyone who believes the administration's "fact-sheet" that asserts the non-agents will collect $124 billion in new taxes knows nothing of IRS history.  In 2010, Congress showered millions on the IRS in hopes of raising $9 billion in new revenue.  The results were deplorable.

The bloated agency, which already has 78,661 employees, spent $574 million to collect $14 million in new taxes.  From fiscal 2015 to 2017, the IRS audited 73% of returns from taxpayers earning $200,00 and lower after stating its mission was to target high-earners. 

 

                                                Prescription Drugs

The American Medical Association (AMA) reviewed the bill's provisions for lowering prescription drug prices and praised the reforms. However, the top 10 drugs, which account for 40% of Medicare Part B drug spending, likely won't be eligible for negotiated prices until 2029.  That's not a typographical error.

                                                Corporate Taxes

The president initially claimed 55 corporations paid no federal taxes in 2021.  His statement had to be walked back.  Actually 26 companies in the S&P 500 and the Fortune 500 paid no taxes.  The 15% minimum would apply to hundreds of firms that paid federal taxes but at a lower rate.

Corporate taxes are ultimately paid by the firm's  customers. Companies pass along the cost in the form of higher prices.  

                                                        Green Energy 

Two of the beneficiaries of the $386 billion in climate spending will be electric car buyers and the solar industry.  Under the act, the business investment tax credit will be lifted to 30% for solar construction projects before the end of 2024.  Purchasers of pricy electric vehicles will receive generous rebates. 

The act changes the current law to give electric vehicle  purchasers an instant $7,500 credit on new cars and $4,000 on used EV's.  Under the old provisions, buyers applied for a tax rebate post-purchase. With the average cost of a new EV reaching  $66,000, few middle-income Americans will reap the benefits.

For an administration which thinks it needs a ministry of disinformation, the Inflation Reduction Act qualifies as misinformation. What little trust Americans had in government, has been ripped to shreds by this disguised legislation. Truth in legislation is an oxymoron in Washnington.