There’s a timeless saying in life that holds true regardless of which political party controls the United States, “Nothing is free.”
This week, U.S. President Joe Biden made a bold claim that his $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” budget would come with no extra costs to Americans, a claim many, even within his own Democrat party are finding extremely hard to believe. That’s because it is unbelievable, especially when the House Ways and Means Committee has only approved a tax hike of $2.1 trillion, which could leave middle-class America holding the bill for the $1.4 trillion balance.
“My Build Back Better Agenda costs zero dollars,” the President’s staff tweeted on his Twitter account. “Instead of wasting money on tax breaks, loopholes, and tax evasion for big corporations and the wealthy, we can make a once-in-a-generation investment in working America. And it adds zero dollars to the national debt.”
While the President and his administration, including White House chief propagandist, Press Secretary Jen Psaki are pushing the narrative that the $3.5 trillion budget would cost $0.
The Wall Street Journal this week reported that the $3.5 trillion number is a phony number.
“Democrats are grasping for ways to finance their cradle-to-grave welfare state, with the left demanding what they claim is $3.5 trillion over 10 years. The truth is that even that gargantuan number hides the real cost of their plans,” the WSJ editorial board reported.
WSJ pointed out Biden and the Democrats aren’t being truthful about the long-term financial impact of the budget, so why should any American assume they are being truthful about the actual costs that will be passed on to American taxpayers?
Making matters worse for Americans is the mainstream media is simply parroting talking points about the Democrats’ plan to rebuild and reshape what America is.
“The press has reported almost none of this, which is how Democrats like it,” the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board noted.
Jen Psaki has been in the hot seat as the only interface between the U.S. press and the President regarding the $3.5 trillion bill. This week, Psaki edited the false claim by the President that declares the bill will cost Americans nothing.
“Some have expressed publicly that they’re not comfortable with 3.5, even though zero — costs zero dollars,” she told reporters.
Dana Perino, now a Fox News host knows what it’s like to be on the hot seat. She served as press secretary for former President George W. Bush. Perino said she would have never stood up in front of Americans and lied to them, saying a $3.5 trillion bill would cost nothing.
“I would have said, I absolutely refuse to say that,” Perino said. “I would never have said that – I have self-respect, and I would never have said something so ridiculous – and they should stop. This is a terrible way to run the government.”
The National Review has called the Biden administration’s claim “bogus spin“, saying there’s no way the President can promise zero cost because there hasn’t been proven to show how to pay for it.
“To start with, there is no evidence that Biden’s plan raises enough money to pay for the spending because there is no final legislation,” the National Review reported. “So far, Democrats have been talking about a $3.5 trillion spending bill, but the tax hike package approved by the House Ways and Means Committee raised about $2.1 trillion.”
The Biden bill isn’t even proposing spending cuts in Washington’s already bloated system.
“So if Democrats were planning to offset the new $3.5 trillion by cutting $3.5 trillion in spending from elsewhere in the budget, they would have a much better case,” NR reported. “But they aren’t, they are talking about imposing higher costs on taxpayers, and saying something is cost-free.”
It wasn’t just the small percentage of responsible media that was dissecting Biden’s zero cost claim, Republicans pounced on the opportunity to take shots at Biden.
“Simple math for President Biden: $3.5 trillion does NOT equal zero,” Congresswoman Claudie Tenney of New York responded.
“Joe Biden thinks his $3.5 trillion spending bill will cost zero dollars,” Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan said. “Speaker Pelosi doesn’t want to talk about numbers and dollars. Why can’t they just be honest? They’re going to raise your taxes.”
Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs said, “A $3.5T reconciliation package does not cost ZERO dollars.”
“This is completely false. The largest spending spree in government history will cost “zero dollars”? That defies logic and basic math,” Arkansas Congressman Steve Womack said. “Alongside massive tax increases, it will add trillions to the debt. Peddling false narratives won’t change those facts.”
Not everyone in Congress is skeptical. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi immediately began using the President’s claim.
“It’s not about a dollar amount,” Pelosi said. “The dollar amount, as the President said is zero.”
While the President contends the plan will cost zero dollars, many are already raising concern over proposed tax hikes in the beef and pork industry that will significantly raise the price of food for Americans. Others have pointed at the capital gains tax increase from 20% to 39.6% which will cripple American’s retirement funds and diminish the value of their investments in their homes. The bill also calls for a tax on tobacco products.
The Ways and Means Committee also proposes a corporate tax rate increase from 21% to 26.5% which would hit Main Street America in the pocket as it is reeling from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and the slow recovery of 2021.
In addition to the costs, the committee will reinvigorate the IRS to proceed with more aggressive tax enforcement against Americans. The Biden administration wants to give the IRS more access to American bank accounts and the ability to view all transactions over $600. Additionally, it wants to provide an additional $80 billion to the IRS and the United States Tax Court to ramp up enforcement.
The bill appropriates nearly $80 billion to the IRS over the next ten years. The funding is to be used to strengthen tax enforcement activities and increase voluntary compliance, expand audits and other enforcement activities, and modernize the agency’s information technology. The bill would also designate approximately $400 million over the next ten years for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and would allocate $157 million to the United States Tax Court.