169 Republicans joined 188 Democrats to expand welfare. There were only 47 no votes from Republicans. 
More Welfare
“There’s something in this bill called ‘tax credits,’ but they’re also called ‘refundable.’ So what is a refundable tax credit? It’s welfare by a different name. We are going to give cash payments, checks to people who don’t even pay taxes. The hard-working constituents that I represent in Kentucky are tired of getting up at 6am, driving an hour or two to work, working their hind ends off to watch their neighbors collect these checks, of which there will be more of after this bill. It’s just wrong.”
Democrats Get It Done
Where Socialism Works
The Wall Street Journal comments on The GOP’s Spending Boost for Biden
Mind Boggling Support
Social Security and Medicare spending climbed 12% to 13% in the first three months of this fiscal year compared to last. Sweetened subsidies are boosting ObamaCare enrollment. Growing entitlement spending is one reason that government, healthcare and social assistance accounted for more than half of the net new jobs in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The deficit would be even larger if not for the Internal Revenue Service holding back a wave of more stimulus. The agency in September paused processing new claims for the Covid-era Employee Retention Credit owing to concerns over abuse and fraud. By one estimate, the IRS has a $244 billion backlog of claims, which will flood the economy when the IRS processes them.
All of this spending contributes to GDP, at least in the short term. But much of this isn’t productive growth that will improve living standards in the long term, and the bills for all this spending will probably be paid in higher taxes.
That’s why it’s mind-boggling that House Republicans want to help Democrats throw another deficit party. tax credit and extend some business tax breaks through 2025.
Democrats have signed on because they view the child-credit provisions as a down payment on a guaranteed annual income and want to boost flagging business investment this year. The political mystery is why Republicans want to add their signature. The tax bill negotiated by Democrat Ron Wyden and GOP Rep. Jason Smith is another in-kind contribution to the Democratic re-election campaign.
The legislation now heads to the Senate. If the Senate Republicans hoist another surrender flag, Biden would sign the bill.
But it takes 60 votes in the Senate. That’s not a given.
Senators are haggling over spending and immigration legislation. They are scheduled to be on recess for two weeks starting Feb. 12, and aides don’t expect lawmakers to consider the tax bill before then.
“I’m certainly not just willing to let the House pass something and then say, ‘Oh well, we’ll just take that,’” said Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas), who said he doesn’t feel any urgency to advance the bill. “The price we’re having to pay is pretty outrageous.”
The price is not pretty outrageous, it’s very outrageous.
Question of the Day
Of what possible use are Republicans when the majority vote like Democrats?
By the way, this behavior in the House isn’t mind boggling, it’s what I predicted in advance when Republicans tossed Kevin McCarthy for Mike Johnson.
For discussion of what Johnson was supposed to accomplish but didn’t, please see Mike Johnson Sticks With $1.66 Trillion Budget Deal, Let’s Recap History
And we still aren’t done. On deck, Biden’s Trojan Horse Immigration Deal Would Allow Another 1.8 Million Migrants
Many Republican Senators support that too. If Johnson allows a vote, that will sail through Congress as well.
In case you haven’t figured this out, it’s highly inflationary.
“Of what possible use are Republicans when the majority vote like Democrats?”
None. Ever. Period.
Are there actual, real, living people out there who haven’t even caught on to _that_ yet? Talk about nation of nothing but dumb sheep..
Washington Democrats and Washington Republicans have no plan to get America’s spiraling budget deficits back under control. H.R. 7024 is another clear example.
There is hope.
Main Street America Republicans do have a plan – one that will generate $112.6 billion federal budget surpluses annually (2024-2029), reduce dependence on government, and restore financial security for America’s hard-working, tax-paying U.S. citizens:
The Leviticus 25 Plan
link to leviticus25plan.org
Off Topic: Do you remember a week or so ago I mentioned a different kind of climate change might b occurring? Have you noticed today’s near record high temperatures around the country very unusual. Double storms head across California 100 inches of snow in 18 hours in Anchorage is weird. This is not due to carbon dioxide from fossil fuels Mish, but it is directly related to human behavior.
How generous of them.
Can someone provide the name of an individual or organization that is focused on taking action to “correct” government profligacy? I’m interested in action rather than simply engaging in more angst laden repartee. I cannot find such an entity or person that is working to unite the disparate voices for fiscal responsibility. Clearly, we cannot rely on dynamic individuals or elected representatives to carry water for responsible governance. Unite (and act) or die.
What could possibly go wrong? Goverment spending is like manna from heaven, until the bills come due. That said, it’s better to spend irresponsibly at home than to spend irresponsibly abroad on wars. But, our feckless government choses to irresponsibly spend always and everywhere. They are traitors to the nation.
“Mind Boggling Support”
The parabolic goes from horizontal to vertical. We are getting well into the vertical.
But no complaining about the other half of the bill, the tax breaks for businesses?
As you said before, “more of this in return for more of that.”
I’ll do your stupid thing if you’ll do mine.
“169 Republicans joined 188 Democrats to expand welfare.”
Does this qualify as another uniparty moment?
“Of what possible use are Republicans when the majority vote like Democrats?”
It’s called the UniParty for a reason. The next president is really going to have his or her work cut out for them. And then, it gets REALLY BAD in ’28. And, that’s just looking at things through the economic lens. Just imagine the geo-political chaos that looms large?
Wolf reminded us the other day that we borrowed $3T in the last 9 months. That’s an absolutely gob smacking statement. And, the economy grew 4.9% & 3.2% in the last two quarters.
I don’t think there’s a recession in the works for ’24, but ’25 becomes a real possibility. In addition, I believe the FY ’25 budget deficit could well be $2.5T and could possibly burst to $3T, if we have a recession in the first half of ’25.
People need to stop thinking the next big financial crisis is 10, 15, 20 years out. 5 sounds a lot more likely. The explosion in Medicare & Social Security that are about to take place will be stunning. And, now we’ve got an expanded child tax credit / refund coming down the pike.
“The explosion in Medicare & Social Security that are about to take place will be stunning.”
If they come up with disease X, they can change that outcome.
Good point. I hope that doesn’t happen, but I know that back in the early part of COVID, it’s believed that China is working to combine SARs & MERs into something that’s easily 15-30% IFR. Disease X would be a near extinction level event. Scary stuff, indeed.
Perhaps it could be paid for by increasing unearned income tax AKA Capital Gains tax to the same rate as working wages earned by people who actually work for money.
I’m not at all defending this, but it is really chump-change as compared to defense spending, Social Security and Medicare. We are past the tipping point, so they might as well reduce rates down below 1% again and print until they run out of ink. Let’s get the crash of the dollar over with already.
The crash of the dollar would hurt the shareholder class. So its not going to happen.
I’m concerned about our nation’s debt but at 67 years old have lived through an era of one tax cut after another. I’ve seen the debt rise faster under Republicans than Democratic administration’s.
I’ve always had the good job and due to cost of childcare we CHOSE for my wife to stay home for 8 years. In the 90s my wife would only have made $25-30k but after cost of childcare, travel expenses, etc it wasn’t worth her working. Childcare costs are even more outrageous now while wages for lower income workers have risen o ly a bit.
That’s $250,000 in taxable income in our family budget which is still affecting us today due to less in 401K and lower SS for my wife. We wanted her to work and considering the massive corporate subsidies we don’t bat an eye at either a child tax credit or a direct subsidy for childcare which I’d prefer, which would mean to citizens with jobs mostly, would be more likely to pay for itself than the tax cuts which are passed on the theory they pay for themselves. If they would they can find plenty to cut to offset the costs of this bill.
Well, the offset to the extra spending was enshrining corporate tax cuts. Republicans work hard to jam up deficit spending and the debt. That’s what we’ve been voting for over the last 40 years. Congress listens!
169 UniParty members – not real conservatives
Clown show!
It could be worse. Take a look at Hungary. The EU is threatening to destroy their economy if they don’t sign off on more money for a losing cause. Imagine what the Uniparty would do if they did not get what they wanted here in the US.
The gov gives women with small children incentives to work, instead of making love and raising children on gov support. The cost of school is $2K per child.
The barefoot and pregnant tribe has spoken
Birth rate’s falling under replacement because it’s too expensive to raise a kid. Great long term thinking there….
I think Wall Street is hallucinating if they think interest rates can be cut any time soon.
Agreed! There are 2 trillion reasons (aka annual budget deficit).
On the other hand, ‘high’ interest rates with exploding deficits creates a different problem.
War in Iran, Gaza,Ukraine. $2 trillion Fed deficit in 2024. Consumers racking up credit card spending. Student loans not getting repaid.
All is as expected in the final days of Fiat.
What you see is vibrant democracy in action. Whichever party proposes a popular spending program without specification how much it will increase taxes, the others would shoot themselves in the foot if opposed on such fuzzy, obstinate notion as fiscal responsibility.
And if you say it will go on the credit card will low-low minimum payment, it’s a done deal.
We don’t want any of that stinking math here.
If I understand correctly this bill expands the “refundable” part of the $2,000 tax credit from $1,600 to $2,000. Trump did this btw. Changed the $4,000 exemption for a dependent into a $2,000 tax credit. Don’t blame me I voted for Gary Johnson.
If only the nation could secede from Washington DC.
Um, this is already happening… in case you haven’t noticed…
Red State Secession (from DC/FedGuv) is INEVITABLE.
Rigged elections = zero representation
Forget FoPo proxy wars & CBDC noise – the US is ALREADY PERILOUSLY CLOSE TO DE FACTO SPLITTING INTO 2+ “countries”… all while the ostrich boomer nostalgists wail, “…it will never happen…”.
You a texan? Git’er done! Gwan! Git!
Only drawback for the US would be having to build a longer wall around Texas.
SECEDE ALREADY!
Maybe we need a higher tax on tea leaves
We are literally gutting ourselves from the inside out. Self destruction in the form of self mutilation. We are voting ourselves into oblivion. Man this is painful to watch our country sell itself out from underneath itself…
This monetary stuff is chicken shit compared to climate change and total world instability. You are worrying about nothing.
Yes, but climate change and world instability, is all caused by the same cabal, don’t you know… Now do you understand what I, and we all should be, worried about.
The spendthrift DC crowd will continue…. you can’t taper a ponzi scheme
Both parties promote to each according to his need, and from each according to his ability.
Problem is with the last part, instead of confiscating rewards of one’s labor ala commies, we choose to put on the collective credit card with no intent to ever pay off the debt. Inflation is the only solution. Don’t cry for me Argentina to be sung from rooftops in DC soon.