Dear Editor: The Stick and the Carrot

Dear Editor,

THE STICK AND THE CARROT: Dishonesty in politics is a given. Those running for office have always whispered sweet nothings into our ears (the carrot). Promises that once in office, they either can’t convert or they just blow them off (the stick). The carrot is also used to get public support for passing a bill. The bill is introduced by the talking heads heralding the good parts (the carrot), but you never hear about the sticks.

The Build Back Better Act is no different. This bill is 2,135 pages. You have no doubt heard of the carrots of this bill from the talking heads on the ‘not so newsy’ networks for months. But with 2,135 pages, there are a lot of sticks. Some as big as baseball bats. You know the carrots: Free(?) universal childcare. Free(?) Pre-K. Medicaid expansion. One-year extension of the Child Tax Credits. $300.00 a month for those under 6 years old. $250.00 a month for those from age 6 to age 17. Calling it a Tax Credit is a stretch, this is a monthly check for people whether you pay taxes or not. The National Paid Family leave program. This provides 4 weeks of taxpayer-paid leave for employees. Many multimillion-dollar businesses already pay for this. If this bill passes, they no longer will pay for that leave; we, the taxpayer, will.

How about a couple of carrots for the rich: Citizens of high tax states, like New York, New Jersey, and California, are eligible for a federal tax deduction called ‘State and Local Tax Deduction’ or S.A.L.T. In the BBBA, this Deduction will be raised from $10,000 to $72,000. The richer you are, the bigger the deduction. This will also be retroactive to include 2021. There are also tax subsidies for the unions. Tax subsidies for the media. To make eco-warriors happy, there is 2.5 billion for Tree Equity(?), 5 million for Desert Fish, and 5 million for Bees. There is even 10 billion for college programs to train environmental activists. The BBBA would restrict how much Big Pharma can charge for their drugs. But not until the drugs have been on the market for 10 years. 13 years if it is a complicated drug.

Let’s look at some sticks. As always, amnesty for illegal immigrants and Welfare expansion. 78.9 billion taxpayer dollars to expand the IRS by roughly 80,000 ‘Enforcement Officers” to look over your shoulder. That’s a 64% increase of the IRS budget over 10 years. Another 3.8 billion to the IRS to administer subsidies. Giving the IRS the power to pick what business gets the money. And let’s not forget that this administration wanted banks to report people’s expenditures over $650. After much blowback, that was increased to $10,000. A car, boat, or house, maybe?

2.6 billion taxpayer dollars to the Labor Department, so they can expand their host of bureaucrats to investigate business dealings. Large or small.

3.5 billion taxpayer dollars to the Small Business Administration to create more regulators.

3.5 billion taxpayer dollars to create the Federal Central Planning Committee. A committee of bureaucrats picks which rural companies are worthy of taxpayer dollars. $545 million of this money goes to setting up the excessive fat bureaucracy.

5 billion taxpayer dollars for a ‘Central Planning at a Regional Level’ office. This group of bureaucrats will decide which companies get taxpayer dollars on a broader than rural scale.

320 billion taxpayer dollars go to companies and consumers as tax credits for ‘Green’ purchases. For example: If you buy a $60,000 electric vehicle, you get a $7500 tax break. The BBBA wants to add another $12,500 onto that. Don’t forget, if you spend $10,000 at one time, the IRS wants to know.

There are 2,135 pages to the Build Back Better Act and this is just a sampling of the ‘sticks’ that are in it. Once again, the politicians are banking on the fact that the taxpayer either will not care or is too lazy to actually look at the bill. The BBBA is a threat to our economy and your wallet. In 10 months, inflation has risen to 6.8%, wage growth is at 5%. Inflation is nullifying any wage growth and the more D.C. spends, the higher inflation goes.

The biggest threat to the Republic of the United States is the uninformed voter. In this age of the internet, these bills are easily accessed. The size of a bill may seem daunting, but our livelihood depends on our knowledge of what is going on. Right now, the BBBA is on life support, call your representatives and let them know how you feel, especially Senator Tester.

Jim Buterbaugh

Whitehall, Montana