Inflation Reduction Act Will Not Help Average Americans, but It Will Supersize Big Government – Opinion

(The opinions expressed in guest op-eds are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.)

It seems as though the Inflation Reduction Act is already a fact that will be passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, and signed by President Biden within the next few hours.

The so-called Inflation Reduction Act, (IRA), will not make Americans’ lives easier. It will not lower inflation. It won’t boost economic growth. It won’t incubate innovation or entrepreneurship. It will not reduce hard-working Americans’ tax burden. It will not reduce red tape, which is draining the U.S. economic dynamism. It won’t reduce the nation’s debt or the annual deficit. It won’t spur job creation. This will not result in higher wages for the average American. It won’t make fuel, food, housing or other items of significant importance more affordable.

However, those who love bigger government will find many benefits from the IRA.

For starters, the bill will increase the size of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) budget six-fold. The bill will add 87,000 IRS agents to help increase tax enforcement through more audits of small business and the self-employed Americans.

At the moment, there are 93,654 IRS employees. In one swift move, Congress seeks to nearly double the size of the IRS, one of the most feared federal departments.

According to the bill’s text, “Nothing in this section is intended to increase taxes on any taxpayer or small business with a taxable income below $400,000. Further, nothing in this section is intended to increase taxes on any taxpayer not in the top 1%.”

Pay particular attention to the phrase “is intended to,” which is repeated twice. There is a reason the bill’s authors chose “is intended to” instead of “shall.”

Per IRS data, Americans earning more than $400,000 annually constitute 1.8 percent of all taxpayers, although they are responsible for about 25 percent of the nation’s income tax revenue. Those making less than $400,000 per year (98.2 percent of taxpayers) pay the vast majority of the nation’s income taxes—75 percent of the total burden.

As The Wall Street Journal points out, “The Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’s official tax scorekeeper, says that from 78% to 90% of the money raised from under-reported income would likely come from those making less than $200,000 a year. Only 4% to 9% would come from those making more than $500,000.”

This bill also benefits the Administrative State, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The bill will provide $41.5 billion to the EPA for new funding. These funds will go towards combating climate change, as well as pursuing nebulous climate justice and other initiatives.

For instance, “The Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants, funded at $3 billion, invest in community led projects in disadvantaged communities and community capacity building centers to address disproportionate environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change.” How does that reduce inflation?

Furthermore, the bill expands the federal government’s role in health care by extending Obamacare subsidies and allowing the government to set price controls for drugs covered under Medicare.

This is by no means a complete list of the many ways that the Inflation Reduction Act can increase government’s size and scope. This is actually only the tip. This bill includes hundreds of millions of dollars worth of crony capitalist subsidies of electric vehicles and various other renewable energy boondoggles.

Inflation Reduction Act does not reduce inflation, this is a fact that cannot be overemphasized. The Inflation Reduction Act is simply another large-scale spending bill that was drafted by Congress Democrats and the Biden administration with the intent of increasing federal power, increasing dependence on it, and creating fear among all those who might dare to challenge it.

Chris Talgo ([email protected]) Senior editor, The Heartland Institute

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