Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), 74, showed what one man can do and every may should try, paraphrasing Bobby Kennedy, demonstrating “Profiles in Courage,” the title of John F. Kenney’s 1955 Pulizer Prize-wining book talking about American Senator-patriots who went against the herd for the good of the country. Manchin’s decision to oppose 79-year-old President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better [BBB] bill, which neither builds anything back better nor helps the struggling U.S. economy, is based on the belief that it’s inflationary. Advocates of Biden’s BBB plan promised a lot of government spending largely toward minority groups looking for the government handouts.. Let there be no mistake, Machin opposed BBB because he thinks it harms the U.S. economy, promoting inflation and ultimately leading to job layoffs and contracting Gross Domestic Product [GDP]
Bidn’s progressive followers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) think’s Manchin opposed the BBB plan because the White House trashed Manchin for throwing a monkey wrench into the system. Whatever the provisions of BBB, it’s one of the most costly pieces of government spending in U.S. history. Following on the heels of the Nov. 15 $1 trillion infrastructure plan, BBB tries to insert U.S. government spending into things like climate change, universal pre-K, reduced health care costs and continuation of the child tax credit, that pays billions in month to families with dependent children. Manchin had a problem with families earning up to $300,000 in total income receiving government largesse for their families. “I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” Manchin told Fox News Sunday, citing the enormity of the spending bill with inflation looming in the economy.
Democrat progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Manchin had no compassion fort the working people of the country, the exact opposite reason Manchin opposed the bill. Joe said no to BBB precisely because it could wreak more havoc on an economy reeling from the biggest inflation in 40 years. While 79-year-old President Joe Biden says inflation is temporary, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jay Powell already scaled back quantitative easing, committing to three rate hikes in 2022. Whether he makes good on that promise is anyone’s guess. Powell admitted when the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020 that the Fed had limited tools for dealing with the economic fallout from a public health emergency. No one really know what will happen in the next few months to the economy over the Omicron variant, now sweeping the nation like wildfire.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a member of the so-called progressive “squad,” said Manchin was holding the American people hostage obstructing passage of the $1.75 trillion legislation. Biden blamed Manchin for stopping BBB, saying he was optimistic that he’d find a way to get Joe to sign on. Some think that Manchin torpedoed the BBB plan because the White House blamed him for not going along. Manchin said the reason behind not supporting the bill had nothing to do with angry White House staffers putting out defamatory comments about Manchin. For Manchin, a fiscal conservative, another big spending bill in the current inflation atmosphere was flirting with disaster. Progressives talk about all the help the bill gives to the working poor and minorities but don’t acknowledge the damage to the economy by more borrowing and spending. Manchin listened to the Fed Chairman and other economists expressing concerns about spending $1.75 trillion.
Liberal complained about Manchin pulling the rug out from underneath Biden’s climate change plans, expected to spend some $600 billion of nuclear power and other sources of low carbon emissions. Machin said clearly that had the economy not been racked with inflation, he would have less opposition to the plan. Whether admitted to or not, the BBI plan was payback to African American and other minority groups for supporting Biden’s presidency. Progressives believe that the government must give minorities a leg up with extra financial support, regardless of what it does to the economy. Manchin express grave concerns that the BBB plan would explode the federal budget deficit and national debt, adding to the inflationary spiral that leave the economy vulnerable to recession, not to mention devaluing the U.S. dollar against all foreign currencies due to the debt load.
If you follow the media’s narrative for why Manchin shot down Biden’s BBB plan, it was due to a vendetta against White House staffers that blamed him for throwing a monkey wrench. “The bottom line is, there was basically—and it’s staff. It’s staff-driven. I understand staff. This is not the president. This is the staff,” Manchin told a West Virginia radio station, referring to insulting remarks made by White House staff. “And they drove some things, and they put some things out that were absolutely inexcusable. The know what it is, and that’s it,” Manchin said, twisting his words. When it comes to the reason why Manchin opposed the BBB plan, it had little to do with politics and everything to do with the plan’s profligate spending that threat to spread more inflation in the economy. Manchin’s decision had to do with economics, not personal reasons.
