"Inflation Reduction Act": some confusion In The Mainstream Press"

ICU 812's Avatar
Only time will resolve this difference in perception and analysis.

We will all know in a few months.

Maybe then we can revisit the subject of this thread.
The bill, narrowly passed in both houses and signed by President Biden, is titled something like, "The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" give or take a word or two.

But most news outlets, broadcast, online and in print are referring to it in terms of climate change, spending and tax issues.

They often cite tax code changes that will have corporations finally, "paying their fair share". It is my experience that companies never pay these taxes in a vacuum. They always treat increased taxes as an additional expense and pass it along to the rest of us by increasing the price of their products or services.

How tax driven price increases will reduce inflation is not clear to me. Originally Posted by ICU 812
The mechanism by which this lemon will "reduce inflation" doesn't seem clear to anyone else, either. (Because it won't!)

So well reasoned there dude. Thank you for your astute contribution. Originally Posted by 1blackman1
Uh-oh! Looks like a lawyer couldn't find a table to pound! So ...

Where did this adage come from?

"Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz shares with his students a strategy for successfully defending cases. If the facts are on your side, Dershowitz says, pound the facts into the table. If the law is on your side, pound the law into the table. If neither the facts nor the law are on your side, pound the table."

(From: quoteinvestigator.com)

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/04/legal-adage/

Well, if you don't have a coherent argument and can't find a table to pound, maybe hurling some sarcastic mockery at someone will make you feel good!

Just a couple of days ago, Jefferey Sachs (no conservative!) sort of chuckled at the bill's name in an interview and intimated that there actually could be a bit of cleverness involved here, since the Biden team will likely boast that the sheer wonderfullness of this legislation surely must be responsible for the likely decline in the headline inflation rate (even though it will plainly have nothing to do with it).

Another thought:

According to the excellent John Cochrane, who appropriately uses the modifier "humorously titled" when referring to the "inflation reduction act," it might have been nice if supporters of this clusterfuck had at least made an effort to quantify its supposed benefits in a reasoned manner:

https://johnhcochrane.blogspot.com/2...y-numbers.html

(Nah, I guess that would be way too much to hope for!)