Friday/ medicine for inflation

The House passed the massive piece of legislation called the Inflation Reduction Act today (the Senate had already passed it). There are lots of really good stuff in it.

John Cassidy writes for The New Yorker magazine: The Inflation Reduction Act contains the biggest effort to tackle climate change that the U.S. government has taken. Right now, thanks largely to the retirement of coal-fired electricity plants, the country is on track to reduce its carbon emissions by about thirty per cent by 2030, compared to 2005. By providing about $370 billion in tax credits over ten years for solar and wind producers, as well as for the purchase of electric vehicles, the new bill will increase the emissions reduction to about forty per cent, according to several expert analyses. The House gave final congressional approval on Friday to a spending bill which would attempt to tackle climate change, the high cost of prescription drugs and lower the deficit by roughly $300 billion. It was passed without any Republican support and now goes to President Biden for his signature.

Uncle Joe the Magician (President Biden) will sign the Inflation Reduction Act into law next week.  Yes, nothing in life is guaranteed, but this bill is not inflationary (spending money that is not gained elsewhere). It aims to reduce the deficit by raising corporate taxes, and will save the federal government and citizens money on prescription medicines and medical bills. And it fights carbon emissions in a big way. [Cartoon by Tom Stiglich]
Graphic by the NYT showing the spending and savings/ new revenue for the Inflation Reduction Act.

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