By Michael Klein
One of Sen. Joe Manchin’s main concerns in deciding to pull his support for President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan is that it would drive up inflation, which is currently rising at the fastest pace in four decades.
On Dec. 19, 2021, the West Virginia Democrat said in an interview that he couldn’t support the bill in its current form because of the impact he says it would have on increasing consumer prices and the national debt. The decision effectively killed one of Biden’s top economic priorities.
The Senate had been considering the roughly US$2 trillion bill passed by the House that would spend money on health care, education, fighting climate change and much else over the next decade. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he still plans to bring it to the floor for a vote.
Manchin and Republicans have argued the risk that more spending could push inflation even higher is too great.
As an economist, I believe Manchin’s concerns are misguided. Here’s why.
Putting $2 trillion in context
High inflation is clearly a problem at the moment – as the Federal Reserve’s Dec. 15, 2021, decision to accelerate its withdrawal of economic stimulus signals.
The most recent statistics show inflation, as measured by the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index, was 6.8% in November 2021. This is the highest level since 1982 – yet still a long way from the double-digit inflation experienced back then.
The question, then, is: Could an additional large spending increase cause inflation to accelerate further?
To answer this, it’s useful to put the numbers in some context.
The price tag of the Build Back Better plan passed by the House of Representatives is about $2 trillion, to be spent over a 10-year period. If the spending is spread out evenly, that would amount to about $200 billion a year. That’s only about 3% of how much the government planned to spend in 2021.
Another comparison is to gross domestic product, which is the value of all goods and services produced in a country. U.S. GDP is projected to be $22.3 trillion in 2022. This means that the first year of the bill’s spending would be about 0.8% of the GDP.
While that doesn’t sound like much either, it’s not insignificant. Goldman Sachs had estimated U.S. economic growth at 3.8% in 2022. If the increased spending translated into economic activity on a dollar-for-dollar basis, that could lift growth by over one-fifth.
But what really matters here is how much the bill would spend in excess of any taxes raised to pay for the program. The higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations that the House version of the bill calls for would reduce economic activity – by taking money out of the economy – offsetting some of the impact of the spending that would stimulate it.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would increase the deficit by $150.7 billion over a decade, or about $15 billion a year. Again assuming this is spread evenly over the 10 years, it would amount to less than one-tenth of 1% of GDP. Even if elements of the bill are front-loaded, it does not seem that this increase in the government debt would contribute much to inflation.
In other words, the proposed spending would make a barely noticeable macroeconomic effect even if it had an unusually disproportionate impact on the economy.
But it won’t reduce inflation either
Some proponents of the bill – including the White House and some economists – have gone further. They have argued that the proposed spending package would actually reduce inflation by increasing the productive capacity of the economy – or its maximum potential output.
This seems implausible to me, at least given the current level of inflation. Historical evidence shows a more productive economy can grow more quickly with relatively little upward pressure on prices. That’s what happened in the U.S. in the 1990s, when the economy grew strongly with little inflation. But it takes time for investments like those in the bill to translate into gains in productivity and economic growth – meaning many of these impacts will be slow to materialize.
And current inflation is likely an acute problem reflecting supply chain disruptions and pent-up demand, challenges that won’t be resolved by expanding the economy’s productive capacity five or more years down the road.
At the same time, what’s in the bill would make a big difference to improving the lives of average Americans by providing more of them with affordable child and health care and reducing child poverty – areas where the U.S. seriously lags behind other rich countries. And it would help the U.S. fight the ever-worsening effects of climate change.
While the $2 trillion in spending would be unlikely to worsen inflation if it were to become law, I believe it could do a lot to materially address these challenges America faces.
Michael Klein is Professor of International Economic Affairs at The Fletcher School, Tufts University.
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Jackson1955 says
Sadly, Manchin’s priorities are the status quo, having the elderly decide for themselves whether they’re going to put food on the table or buy their meds. Joe Manchin supporting the working person? That’s rich. (pardon the pun) He’s too busy catering to the Big coal owners. His solution to caring for the everyday working person is to inflict even more pain points than they can bear.
Pogo says
@Jackson1955
So far, you, and Michael Klein, are the only sober adult voices here.
President Biden and the elected Democrats have accomplished much. Senator Manchin was essential to all of it.
Manchin is his own party. He would be just another Republican gonif if he openly caucused with mcconnell.
Now, Manchin, and the clothes horse from Arizona, may doom our democracy, and our world.
In a universe that ends in heaven or hell — there is no almost.
And so it goes.
starryid says
He’s right!
Anonymous says
Manchin is far from wrong. Where are Biden and the Democrats getting all this money from? The more money they print, the higher the inflation and we are going to pay for it for years upon years to come.
The dude says
The exact same place trump and the republicans got all their money from.
bob says
I doubt if Anonymous understands your comment. He’s probably an accomplished graduate of a florida grade school prior to 2000
BMW says
Almost Heaven, WV.
Mark says
LOL. Inflation is transitory too. The 2 Trillion $ figure gets much larger over ten years according to the CBO. Does the bill pay for meat, gas, energy, other food stuffs or the supply chain? No, just for things to help people not work.
Lorraine says
There is way to much “”pork” spending in this bill. And I am against citizenship to the “illegals” already in this country! I feel you don’t reward criminals! Which is included in this bill. The only thing allotted to Seniors is help paying for hearing aids and “maybe” help bringing down some drug costs, but will continues to give handouts to families with kids!! JUST SAY NO TO THIS BILL!!!
Bartholomew says
He sounds like someone is in his pocket making decisions for him. That seems to be a big problem in US politics. Too many
“leaders” are not leading, instead they are following instructions given to them by their financial supporters. I would not be surprised if this has to do with the coal companies. He appears to be just another political tool.
Dennis says
Everyone knows the 2 trillion number is crap! The plan is to make these freebies permanent at over 5 trillion. Then renew them again after 5 years! The democrats are doing nothing but trying to buy votes with this child care game. In the new bill, it gives this money to illegals with kids. No social security number needed! Child care for couples making $150000 a year, need not to be working. A true joke! The democrats are fighting to make millions of illegals voters for the democrats at the expense of the American taxpayer. This would cost hundreds of billions, read the report on this cost. Democrats don’t care. It will and has lowered the wages of citizens, why do you think big business owners want this? The democrats are the socialist party that America don’t want. Congress associates making $174000 a year pleading fir Biden to forgive their college loans. America survived for 250 years without these freebies. Big tax cuts fir the million dollar home owners fir property taxes. Manchin is a true American hero!
The dude says
Someone fell out of the republican propaganda tree and hit every branch on the way down…
Dennis C Rathsam says
POPPYCOCK….This bill was bad, and diasterous from the get go! Everyone knows that theres so much PORK in this bill, its insane. How many special projects, that have nothing to do with re building the US? Face it folks, we dont have the money…PERIOD. To increase the debt, during this pandemic is crazy, bonehead thinking. Look at all those fossils, in charge of our country now. They are all OLD!!!!! They,ll pass this bill now, then as they die, one by one in the comming years, America will perish under debt to China, Russia & Iran. No where in history has the US, burdend our children with such monsreous debt…How can they servive? Thank god for Joe Manchin, his wisdom and his belief in god, made him a savior…. After all its is Christmas, that majical time of year. Thank god they killed the bill.
David Kehoe says
Totally disagree. I know many here will not give President Trump credit for anything however, I wish they would take their blinders off for just a few minutes and continue to read on. If you will think back prior to Covid outbreak, the USA economy was on a real roll. Lowest unemployment for all minorities. Full employment. REAL wage gains, not the fake political ones and generally people were actually happy. I know in this climate its hard to remember but do try. All this was accomplished WITHOUT government give away programs. Society figured how to deal with child care, without monthly government payments , with high college tuition payments, etc . That success was one of the reasons the bureaucrats in Washington DC were so afraid of President Trump. All that success was achieved in record time without government help. If society achieved that just a few years ago, we certainly can do it again and we don’t need a 2 trillion dollar government program to get back there.
Bill C says
When Obama took office the Dow was at 8,000, after the disastrous Bush policy of tax reductions for the rich (trickle down theory) tanked the market. When Obama left office the Dow was 20,000, a 150% gain. When Trump left office the Dow was 31,000, a 56% gain. Under Biden the Dow is hitting record new highs almost every day. Ps The covid outbreak, according to Trump, was a hoax, remember?
Bill C says
pps As usual, the Republicans want to put their chips on “trickle down theory” again by blocking BBB.
David Kehoe says
No I am not discussing “trickle down theory” in any way. Can you take your blinders off for 1 minute and recognize what Trump DID accomplish was not Republican or Democratic, he was able to create a growing economy for ALL Americans. If you really think you can grow the economy from poverty up, you are crazy!!! It will always be a Top down economic success for our nation.
Dennis C Rathsam says
HERE HERE!!!! Finally some one who has a brain!!! GOD BLESS U… Mikey C and his democratic fools, have nothing too hang their hat on…Bidens 1st year was a disaster….Hey Micheal, theres no fool… Like an old fool!
The dude says
Thank you for pointing out all the things President Obama accomplished, then trump piggy backed off of and claimed credit for.
You know the amazing thing about the roaring economy that President Obama built, then handed to trump, is that he pretty much did it without any help from republicans for his last 6 years in office.
beachlover says
Thank God that Manchin put an end to this democrat madness.
Jimbo99 says
Paying twice as much for everything during the pandemic gouging (especially when a new wave of any variant creates a post-pandemic variant gouge) isn’t wrong. If this were a hurricane, there would be a hotline to report all of it. Rewarding those gouging the masses by putting a pot of trillions out there is what is wrong. Would you buy a house that is in a bubble (more price gouging by the way). Timing is everything in this world. And spending Biden-Harris out of a recession doesn’t work for the masses. We all wonder why rent is unaffordable, there’s a housing crisis, building material shortage, labor shortage. Those are all lies to finance & sign projects that should be done in a fiscally responsible manner. BBB, how environmentally responsible is that for climate change. How responsible is releasing fossil fuel for holiday travel ? Biden-Harris seem to be picking & choosing winners & losers, picking & choosing what pollutes our planet for global warming. Where’s Greta Thundberg when Biden raids a oil reserve ? Trump produced that oil reserve, Biden raids & uses it to politicize the myth of a Biden prosperity & pandemic recovery. So the goalposts were moved. We end up paying 2X for what is worth no more than it was 2 years ago. And more people are left behind for it.
Take Flagler county ? What did we build over the last 2 years here, or set in motion to be built. Let’s see, there was a $ 5.6 million splash pad, roads were paved, Dunes restored (imagine doing the bulk of that project in a Biden-Harris America gouge economy). What was set into motion, more houses & duplexes, apartments, FCSO facility with an additional storage contract rider, Tennis Center expansion for pickleball courts & new hospital facility. The questions become, would you pay double for your own home repair or build ? Perhaps you would if you’re on the gravy train & first in line for the prosperity, egregiously profiting from it. But if all you are, is left/saddled with, is the actual payments of debt with no increase in pay all you are is the loser that pays for it all. In that moment your quality of life sucks. Those folks that are selling drugs, they can’t find an employer that is paying them enough to live in the lies, the fraud & abuse of unaffordable BBB. Seems they have plenty of building materials & labor to commit to the projects of growth locally here, maybe they’re approving all of this knowing it’s BBB. But that doesn’t do any one else that isn’t really getting paid life altering money for actually doing the work. Wages aren’t going magically increase, profits will and that will go to the few, the execs, not the masses of labor. And as usual nepotism & cronyism, those folks get rewarded. Interesting, with a pandemic, the population of the USA still grew over the last 2 years. That’s not doing anything towards saving the planet. That’s science, no political liars spinning & justifying their paychecks.
NYC is going to allow illegals to vote, FCOL why don’t they just let the Chinese & Russians vote from off shore with mail in ballots ? Then the world can operate the USA with the socialism & communism of what too many members of congress are seeking to allow. Anyone still see Jan 6th as an insurrection ? It was a protest that was trying to save us from what you’re seeing today with inflation and the rest of the dots that need to be connected, dots of change that aren’t making the USA or world a better place.
tulip says
NYC is only allowing non-citizens to vote in LOCAL elections such as city council, commissioners and the like in the city or town they live . They cannot vote in presidential or other national elecetions.Some of these people are own businesses which are affected by local laws, and should have a say in how their city makes rules and laws. The article did not say that illegals were allowed to vote, only the non-citizens which, I presume are immigrants who are allowed to live here, have a green card and work and pay taxes like the rest of us.
Dennis C Rathsam says
So right my brother, Way too much PORK in bill that has nothing to do with infrasture….JOE BIDEN dosnt even know JOE BIDEN NOW!!!!!
The dude says
OMG too much stupid to unpack in this one. You go girl…
BLS says
So Manchin is wrong and you are right. More than likely just the opposite.
Bill C says
Last year Manchin earned one half million dollars from his interests in coal production. Even the largest coal mining union has implored Manchin to support BBB. Money talks, voters walk. All these nay sayers will be the first in line with their hands out to get the benefits after the bill is passed. Also, by 2022 the Republicans will have outraged voters so much with their policies that favor the wealthy that Democrats will win big.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Another fool that drinks the PELOSI kool aid
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
No, Manchin killed it because that’s what his corporate backers, and by extension, the Democratic party, wanted. Both parties want the same thing, which is profits for companies at the expense of human lives.
Ray says
Build Back Broke. Not Better.
John Stove says
So everyone’s deficit argument is that this is a “Democrat” thing? Total Bulls**T!
Trump took office in 2017. By the end of his term four years later, he was estimated to hold $6.6 trillion in deficits, a 33% increase from the previous administration…..
Who did the GOP or Trump help?….only big business,,,,,especially because of the sharp reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, took a big bite out of federal revenue. Did you see any grocery prices go down? I didnt think so.
So what did this loser do for us? one of Trump’s lesser-known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch.
The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt.
Sherry says
Thanks so much Bill C and John Stove. . . along with the others who have pointed out actual facts. Unfortunately, there are too many in our community who are so entrenched in their FOX/Facebook world that they care nothing for factual analysis. Preferring to mindlessly spout extreme right talking points.
Just pry open your minds a tiny bit and imagine what could be accomplished if the “Billionaires” actually paid their “fair share” of federal, and state income taxes. . . just as we are required to do. The tax “schedule” doesn’t need to be changed at all. . . just close the enormous tax loopholes. Let’s go after those “billions” hidden offshore in secret accounts, too! THINK! Just imagine what could be accomplished.
Ray W. says
Great societal upheavals can produce significant changes in the perspectives of people who are impacted by those upheavals, but the changes in perspective often take years or even decades to fully take root.
On Black Friday in 1929, the bell weather of the stock market, the Dow-Jones, entered into a free-fall, shocking many Americans, but directly affecting relatively few of them, because a comparatively small percentage of Americans directly owned stocks in the companies that endured the initial upheaval. Large numbers of smaller stocks were not as directly and as immediately affected on that shocking day. The politically conservative class of the day decided to do nothing, as their commonly accepted belief was that unrestrained free-market forces would provide the economic answers to the problem. By 1932, the world’s economy was beginning to enter the worst phases of what had become an international depression. Democrats offered a different approach and FDR was elected. In his first 100 days, a wave of controversial New Deal legislation radically reversed the economic course set by the previous politically conservative class, whose lack of economic response to what had become an American economic crisis had accentuated the initial problem. New Deal spending plans eventually positively impacted the national economy, which began its long and slow recovery. An economist, Keynes, had led a persuasive effort to encourage deficit spending. History tells us Keynes and his fellow economists were right and the politically conservative class was wrong.
As America began to emerge from the Great Depression, the politically conservative class successfully portrayed the spending as excessive. The passage of the Social Security Act was hailed by the politically conservative class as a communist plot. A conservative Supreme Court began overturning portions of New Deal legislation. Republicans took control of Congress in November 1936. Their first order of action was to cut off what remained of the New Deal’s deficit spending, leading to the world’s first example of a double dip recession, with the second phase of the economic downturn lasting until increased government spending occasioned by the military buildup that began shortly before WWII allowed the American economy to begin to regain its economic potential.
During WWII, the next great societal upheaval, we put just over 15 million men and women into uniform, built 100,000 aircraft in one year, built 55,000 tanks, built thousands of Liberty ships, built 115 aircraft carriers of various sizes and ran huge deficits compared to the GDP of the day, the likes of which we have not seen in all of the ensuing years, yet we emerged from the war as the world’s largest and strongest economy.
While there were many small economic downturns following the war years, the next great societal upheaval occurred in the ’60’s, beginning with the civil rights movement and ending with LBJ’s Great Society legislation. The American economy took a long time to adapt to the increased tax burden, with long-term inflation topping at over 14%. Various economists proposed plans that were accepted and then discarded. President Nixon actually signed an executive order freezing prices, perhaps the closest we have ever come to a communist-styled economic policy. The politically conservative class eventually responded by persuading the national government to enact tax cuts for the wealthy, with David Stockman arguing that the wealthy would then invest their gains, which would benefit ordinary American workers. Dubbed “trickle-down” economics, the first years of Reagan’s economic plan saw mortgage interest rates rising into the double digits. When I bought my first house in 1984 for $32k, the interest rate was over 13%. The savings and loan’s mortgage officer predicted to me that America might never see single-digit mortgage rates again. I sold it in 1986 for $54k. As a young prosecutor, my pay went from $19k to $37.5k between January 1986 and September 1988, though I was rising rapidly through the ranks of the office. All prosecutors received multiple cost of living adjustments (COLA) each year and I received large raises and multiple promotions. After several years, Stockman admitted that he had been wrong, stating that cutting taxes for the wealthy had not economically impacted the ordinary worker in the manner he had predicted. The Reagan years saw large deficits compared to GDP. By the time Bush I was about to embark on his reelection campaign, he listened to his economic advisors and signed a significant tax increase, violating his promise of “no new taxes”, which many argue led to his defeat in 1992. The increases added to our tax structure signed by Bush I, in part, resulted in eight years of significant and sustained economic growth under Clinton, with two years of actual tax surpluses.
Meanwhile, in the ’90’s, the Japanese economy plummeted after years of overly optimistic borrowing by major corporations against their holdings in various commercial buildings in Tokyo. The overvalued commercial buildings could not support the debts attached to them, which led to the economic demise of several large national corporations and prompted an ensuing recession. Japanese economists persuaded the government to engage in deficit spending, with the plan being to match the previous year’s national GDP, despite a significant decrease in overall national economic activity. A rising American economist had been sent by our government to Japan prior to the recession; he participated in their government’s response to the economic crisis. For several years, Japan’s economy slowly recovered, but the rise in the national deficit was exploited by Japan’s politically conservative class. A new so-called conservative government was elected and immediately used the fear of the deficit to dramatically reduced deficit spending. What is now known as a double-dip recession immediately occurred, from which the Japanese economy has never fully recovered.
The next major American economic upheaval occurred during Bush II’s administration, though its roots began with passage of a Gingrich-led congressionally proposed mortgage lending bill that was signed into law by Clinton. During Bush II’s administration, mortgage lenders submitted three different mortgage plans (two residential, one commercial) to the Bush administration for review and approval. All three mortgage plans received the administrative go-ahead and were offered by mortgage companies to residential and commercial borrowers. We now know that these three flawed mortgage plans figured significantly in the Great Recession. Millions of Americans lost their jobs and their savings. The stock market plummeted in value. The housing market lost much of its value. Major banks were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Bush II listened to his economists and signed an executive order pledging the full faith and credit of the Treasury (estimated by some as a potential cost of over $4 trillion had all of the major banks failed). Bush’s signature to the executive order stabilized America’s markets, though the order instigated the ire and dismay of the politically conservative class. Only one major bank fell, while the others barely staved off bankruptcy.
Congress also passed the TARP Act, which was implemented during the Obama administration. Obama’s top economic advisor was that young rising economist who had been sent to Japan. The politically conservative class bitterly complained about the TARP Act’s $770 billion spending plan. The government actually placed administration members on GM’s board of directors, which can easily be argued to have been a close call with socialism. All three major American automobile producers received significant TARP aid. America’s automobile industry reorganized and emerged back into profitability. Economists argued that the actual cost of the TARP Act to the economy was less than $40 billion, as those companies that received TARP aid repaid the loans and GM’s stock that was held by the government was sold at a significant profit. What would have been the cost to our economy had all three great automakers failed?
During the Obama administration, we entered into the longest term of monthly positive job and GDP growth in our nation’s history. During that job and GDP growth spree, we averaged some 210,000 jobs gained per month and the unemployment rate dropped dramatically, from just over 10% to as low as 4.5%. Our nation’s annual deficit fell dramatically. The Trump administration inherited and built on this positive economic situation, averaging just under 200,000 jobs gained per month for nearly 40 months. The unemployment rate continued to fall, eventually reaching 3.5% after nearly 10 years of continuous improvement. Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy were predicted to lead to sustained 4% annual GDP growth over a 10-year period, though in reality GDP growth averaged 2.9% during the first three Trump years as compared to 2.7% GDP growth during the Obama years. Then, the pandemic upheaval struck the world’s economy. The outcome remains in doubt. Many competing plans have been offered. No one knows how it will all work out.
In the end, economic stability is the key. Worldwide, businesses large and small borrow money and invest in research when business leaders have faith in the future. Again, economic stability is the key. A stable tax rate, even though it was high compared to today’s tax rate, led to the years of significantly large GDP gains and positive economic activity and job growth that characterized the Clinton years in power. It isn’t always low taxes that promote growth. Stability is the key. All my adult life I have been aware of Tax Freedom Day, which compares municipal, county, state and national tax rates to national GDP. Look it up for yourselves. Since the early ’70’s, Tax Freedom Day has remained largely static. It falls later in the year when the economy is relatively strong, earlier when it is relatively weak. Our relative overall tax burden has remained remarkably the same for nearly 50 years, compared to GDP, though I freely concede that debt freedom day continues to rise and is a major economic problem.
For nearly 90 years, America’s politically conservative class has expressed outrage anytime Democrats propose spending plans during our many large and small economic downturns to encourage economic growth. Communism, some consistently yell. Socialism, others irately proclaim. Many, perhaps most, economists encourage the spending plans, depending on the severity of the negative economic circumstances. Dennis C. Rathsam, David Kehoe, Dennis, Jimbo99, etc., are just several more examples of their many predecessors who have been predicting doom and gloom for all of those 90 years. Most of the time, the economists have been right; the naysayers, wrong. Of course, no one can predict the future and the naysayers might be right this time. Jobless claims last week were the lowest since 1969. The four-week jobless claim average is also historically low. The unemployment rate is back down to 4.2% from the nearly 10% at the height of the economic plummet during the initial phase of the pandemic. But, we have yet to regain 3.9 million of the lost jobs, much less account for the needed job growth that likely would have continued had the pandemic not hit. Had the Trump average of just under 200,000 new jobs per month continued, we would have just over 4 million more new jobs added, so we may be approximately 8 million jobs behind where we might have been had the pandemic never occurred and had the Obama/Trump expansion era continued unabated. We remain in a crisis economy, yet we are clearly emerging from the initial hit. The question might best be whether we will continue to emerge from our dramatic plunge or enter into a second phase of economic downturn, aka, another double dip recession. We can either listen to the politically conservative class or to economists who encourage continued intervention in the economy. 90 years of economic history tells us of the necessity to ignore the cries of Dennis C. Rathsam, David Kehoe, Dennis, Jimbo 99, and the multitude of the like-minded members of the politically conservative class. Today’s so-called conservatives might be right this one time. If they are wrong, however, and the economic proposals advocated by the author of this article are correct, then the negative long-term economic results of listening to people like Dennis C. Rathsam, David Kehoe, Dennis, Jimbo99 and countless others could be significant.
In sum, the author, an economist, could be the one who is economically numerate and Dennis C. Rathsam, David Kehoe, Dennis, Jimbo99 and countless others economically innumerate. Should we listen to the economically numerate among us or the economically innumerate among us? (Innumerate: “without a basic knowledge of mathematics and arithmetic.”)
Yearning for Sanity says
Wonderful enumeration of our economic history! If only the population at large were capable of understanding it. The Rich and the Big corporations will continue to evade paying any taxes; the middle class will bear the load until it collapses; the poor will become poorer and more will join their ranks, then the conservatives will blame everyone but themselves claiming they are due more tax cuts.
Sherry says
Dear Ray W.
Yet again, an excellent “factual” analysis. . . this one of historic economic trends. Thank you, Sir!
If only the David Kehoe, Dennis, Jimbo99 and Dennis Rathsams of this world would take the time to study such fact based data from “experts” in different fields, our society would certainly benefit from their newly educated and “considered” perspective and input. I would also love to believe that some of the conservatives that commonly post on Flaglerlive can be persuaded to look beyond FOX talking points.
Jimbo99, in his loquaciousness, often ends up being incoherent. . . but, at least he attempts to reason beyond the tripe FOX and FACEBOOK peddles.
Happy Christmas ALL! May the blessings of the season fill your heart with great JOY!
Sherry says
The Low Down on Manchin:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-16/manchin-rakes-in-cash-from-energy-industry-some-gop-donors