The Democrats are at it again. Remember a few weeks back when the Dems, who now completely control Congress, passed a $1.9 trillion so-called COVID Relief Bill, of which only 9% actually went towards COVID relief? Well now they’re getting ready to pass a $2.3 trillion so-called Infrastructure Bill, of which only 6% actually goes towards infrastructure things like roads and bridges.
The other 94% would go towards a laundry-list of Bernie Sanders’ and AOC‘s far-left radical agenda. For example, whereas only $115 billion would go towards highways, etc., $174 billion would go towards forcing Americans out of their traditional gas fueled vehicles and into Green New Deal electric vehicles (which by the way are actually powered by fossil fuels, since when they are plugged in, the electricity comes overwhelmingly from coal or natural gas or oil-fueled power plants.)
$213 billion goes towards forcing Americans to retrofit their homes and businesses to make them greener (nearly twice as much as goes towards roads and bridges.) And billions and billions more goes toward such things as the creation of a “civilian climate corp”, “advancing racial equity and environmental justice”, and “making school lunches greener” (and almost surely less tasty and therefore more of the food will end up in school trash cans.)
Do we really need an infrastructure bill? Absolutely. We do need to repair and replace the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges, highways, airports, locks, power grid, etc. Locally, such major projects as the Brent Spence Bridge and the Western Hills Viaduct need attention, and it will take local, state, and federal dollars to get the job done. And I support these projects, and an infrastructure bill that would make them, and similar projects across America, possible.
But the Democrats’ bill looks like it’s going to be just the latest example of how NOT to govern. Pelosi‘s modus operandi is “it’s my way or the highway” (pun intended.) Shove a bunch of left-wing spending in a bill that’s supposed to be about something else, and then put a label on it that will mislead the public. And a Democrat-friendly press will fail to provide proper scrutiny, and voilà, the radical left-wing agenda moves forward, and then off to the next big-spending bill.
This certainly isn’t the bipartisanship and unity that candidate Joe Biden promised, or that President-elect Biden talked about in his inaugural address. It’s raw political power. It’s ugly, and it’s bad for the country.
Accompanying all this new spending will be significantly higher taxes. And here come the smoke and mirrors again. The Democrats say only the rich and corporations will pay. But anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that’s a lie. When you raise taxes on corporations, they pass on the majority of that cost to consumers (you and me.) We pay higher prices for everything we buy. Workers lose their jobs. And companies close facilities here, and move them overseas to countries where the tax rates are lower.
The shame is, we had, just several years back, lowered taxes on all Americans, including on American businesses. According to the Organization for Economic Development (OECD) this had brought American corporate rates down to the middle of the pack, compared to other countries we compete with. Thus American products have been selling well across the globe, and American jobs have been growing (until of course the pandemic hit.) If the proposed taxes accompanying the Democrats’ so-called infrastructure bill are passed, American corporate rates will go back to being the highest in the world, and the American economy and job picture will suffer as a result.
In summary, an infrastructure bill? Yes. THIS so-called infrastructure bill? No.