Bowman vs. Manchin; Who Does Westchester Agree With?
Infation has been called the hidden tax increase, because it makes the lives of all Americans more difficult, especially those of us on a fixed income or who don’t have enough money to buy it no matter what the price is. Over the past 12 months, prices have increased by 6.2%, an inflation rate that we haven’t seen inflation in our country in more than a decade. So how can our government combat infation? There are two differing views on this topic.
One view says that if our government pumps more money into our economy, inflation will continue to go up. Former Obama Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said about government overspending, “I see substantial risk that the amount of water being poured in vastly exceeds the size of the bathtub.”
But President Joe Biden points to 17 Nobel Prize winning economists who support the $1.7 Trillion, Human Infrastructure bill as a way to help lower inflation.
So while economists differ, one person whose opinion may matter the most is U.S. Senator Joe Manchin. Senator Manchin is presently opposed to more spending, and more borrowing, in part because of the increased debt it will put on future generations, but also the view that dumping more money into the economy will only fuel greater inflation.
Mansion’s comments and tweets include: “By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not “transitory” and is instead getting worse. From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day.
“West Virginians are concerned about rising inflation. We cannot throw caution to the wind & continue to pile on debt that our country can’t afford.
“While I’ve worked hard to find a path to compromise, it’s obvious: Compromise is not good enough for a lot of my colleagues in Congress. It’s all or nothing, and their position doesn’t seem to change unless we agree to everything,”
“Enough is enough. It’s time our elected leaders in Washington, all of us, stopped playing games with the needs of the American people in holding a critical infrastructure bill hostage. I’m open to supporting a final bill that helps move our country forward. But I’m equally open to voting against a bill that hurts our country,”
“As more of the real details outlined in the basic framework are released, what I see are shell games, budget gimmicks that make the real cost of the so-called $1.75 trillion bill estimated to be almost twice that amount, if the full time is run out, if you extended it permanently. This is a recipe for economic crisis.”
“Over the past year, Congress has injected more than $5 trillion of stimulus into the American economy – more than any time since World War II – to respond to the pandemic. Adding trillions of dollars more to nearly $29 trillion of national debt, without any consideration of the negative effects on our children and grandchildren, is one of those decisions that has become far too easy in Washington.
“Given the current state of the economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at levels more suited to respond to a Great Depression or Great Recession – not an economy that is on the verge of overheating. I firmly believe that continuing to spend at irresponsible levels puts at risk our nation’s ability to respond to the unforeseen crises our country could face,” said Manchin, whose vote is required to pass the $1.7 Trillion Human Infrastructure bill through the Senate. With a 50-50 tie, democrats need every vote in order for Vice-President Kamala Harris to break the tie. Another U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, from Arizona, is also balking at supporting the second bill, but Manchin has been the most vocal.
Senator Manchin’s views, and the views of Westchester Congressmember Jamaal Bowman, are about as far as two democrats could be. Bowman tweeted, “Joe Manchin is the new Mitch McConnell. His obstruction of President Biden’s agenda doesn’t serve the American people, Republican or Democrat. It serves corporate interests. People are losing their lives and their livelihoods right now because our infrastructure is 100 years old and climate change is here to stay … It’s now or never,”
But we wonder, in the Westchester portion of Rep. Bowman’s district, do the majority of democrats agree with Manchin or Bowman? Rep. Bowman pointed out to us in our recent interview that “my district also includes the Bronx,” which certainly supports the safety net spending included in the Human Infrastrucuture bill.
But in Westchester County, we believe that a majority democrats, republicans and independents do not support the second infrastructure bill, and fear inflation and overspending and too much debt. But before Senator Manchin is forced to vote on the $1.7T bill, the House must vote and approve it. That vote was delayed, with House Speaker Pelosi promising a vote by Nov. 15.
