Joe Manchin agrees to tax increase as economy enters recession

Late yesterday afternoon, Joe Manchin reached a deal with the devil, aka Chuck Schumer, to raise taxes right when the economy is entering a recession. While it's disappointing that he'd pull a stunt like that, it isn't entirely surprising. While the official name of the bill is the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, it really should be titled the 'Joe Manchin's Walk the Plank Act' because, in order for this to pass, all 50 Senate Democrats have to vote for a major tax increase right before the midterm election and after the economy has officially entered a recession. The political timing couldn't get much worse for Democrats. Catherine Cortez-Masto, Mark Kelly, Michael Bennet, Raphael Warnock and Maggie Hassan have to vote for this bill for it to pass. I suspect that the NRSC isn't happy from an economic standpoint but they're jubilant from a 2022 midterm elections standpoint.

Predictably, Joe Biden downplayed the fact that we've entered a recession. In his statement, he said "Coming off of last year’s historic economic growth – and regaining all the private sector jobs lost during the pandemic crisis – it’s no surprise that the economy is slowing down as the Federal Reserve acts to bring down inflation." Note to Sleepy Joe: the economy isn't just slowing down; the economy just entered a recession.

He finished his statement with this paragraph:

My economic plan is focused on bringing inflation down, without giving up all the economic gains we have made. Congress has an historic chance to do that by passing the CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act without delay.

First, recessions bring inflation down. Next, passing these bills won't help fight inflation. They'll supercharge inflation. Sen. Tom Cotton had this to say about the Walk the Plank Act:

Sen. Cotton is likely right in saying that the 700-page bill "is probably the longest suicide note in the history of West Virginia." This won't be forgotten by West Virginians or the nation. That's why I nicknamed it the Walk the Plank Act.