Manchin lays out a Dem bill he can back: Taxes, prescription drugs, climate cash

[Greenbeard]

Swell! Type it up, pass it, sign it, let's move on.

Manchin lays out a Dem bill he can back: Taxes, prescription drugs, climate cash

Hours after President Joe Biden laid out what he hopes to salvage from Democrats’ defunct “Build Back Better” social spending plan, Joe Manchin is quickly assembling his counteroffer.

In a Wednesday afternoon interview, the West Virginia centrist laid out a basic party-line package that could win his vote, lower the deficit and enact some new programs, provided they are permanently funded. It may be Democrats’ best and last chance to get at least some of their biggest domestic priorities done before the midterm elections, but would require everyone in the party — particularly liberals — to concede that what’s possible doesn’t come close to the $1.7 trillion package Manchin spurned in December.

Manchin said that if Democrats want to cut a deal on a party-line bill using the budget process to circumvent a Republican filibuster, they need to start with prescription drug savings and tax reform. He envisions whatever revenue they can wring out of that as split evenly between reducing the federal deficit and inflation, on the one hand, and enacting new climate and social programs, on the other — “to the point where it’s sustainable.”

Manchin's starting point is that the bill has to include Medicare prescription drug negotiation and "changing the tax code to make the rich and corporations pay their fair share." You could stop right there and it would be a BFD. But he's willing to reinvest some of the budget space those savings and revenues free up, putting some of it toward some unspecified subset of the climate and social programs Biden's been pushing. A B'erFD.

No-brainer, take the deal. The logic of the situation has been the same from Day 1: the 50th vote has all the power. If the 50th vote (assuming Sinema doesn't blow everything up for no apparent reason) is willing to move on big Democratic priorities, then let's go. They've all made this much harder than it needed to be.

 

[Bok Tuklo]

First barrier will be Senator Sinema (D-AZ).

 

[Greenbeard]

First barrier will be Senator Sinema (D-AZ).

Maybe so! I don't know what her angle is.

 

[Threegoofs]

Can’t see link due to malware, but this can’t be too serious, given how this would have tanked pharma stocks when announced. They barely moved.

 

[Bok Tuklo]

Maybe so! I don't know what her angle is.

She has said no to tax reform.

 

[Demon]

I don't trust him. The bill will get written, and he'll suddenly be against it.

 

[Razoo]

We would need to review the loopholes and other fine print.....

Manchin is not really one of the people he's looking at getting re-elected......

 

[Bullseye]

Swell! Type it up, pass it, sign it, let's move on.

Manchin lays out a Dem bill he can back: Taxes, prescription drugs, climate cash


Manchin's starting point is that the bill has to include Medicare prescription drug negotiation and "changing the tax code to make the rich and corporations pay their fair share." You could stop right there and it would be a BFD. But he's willing to reinvest some of the budget space those savings and revenues free up, putting some of it toward some unspecified subset of the climate and social programs Biden's been pushing. A B'erFD.

No-brainer, take the deal. The logic of the situation has been the same from Day 1: the 50th vote has all the power. If the 50th vote (assuming Sinema doesn't blow everything up for no apparent reason) is willing to move on big Democratic priorities, then let's go. They've all made this much harder than it needed to be.

"No brains" is m ore like it. How can even talk massive spending and deficit reductions? Oxymoronic (and just plain moronic). Rich and corporation (who's customers actually pay the tax) already pay a large percentage of taxes.

We need a plan that leaves MORE money in the hands of those that know how to use it: businesses, consumers and entrepreneurs.