The Sconi

The Democrats' climate and health care bill, titled the "Inflation Reduction Act of 2022," passed the Senate this weekend on a 51-50 vote. Contrary to what the bill's name implies, basic economics suggests that the increased $443 billion in government spending will actually worsen the country's inflation problem. U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes of Wisconsin supports the bill. 

All 50 Democrat senators voted for the bill and none of the 50 Republican senators voted for the bill, so one tie-breaker vote from Vice President Kamala Harris was needed to pass the legislation. 

WisPolitics.com reported that last week, Barnes stated he would support the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Within days of being anointed, the Democrat nominee U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes is already revealing himself to be just another tax and spend politician dead set on sticking low- and middle-income earners with the bill for another liberal wish list,” Republican Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Mike Marinella said, according to WisPolitics.com.

According to New York Post opinion contributor David Harsanyi, the bill, proposed by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer, addresses priorities related to climate change and health care. It includes $430 billion in new spending on energy, electric vehicle credits and health insurance. It also raises minimum taxes for big companies and enforces existing tax laws.

"The so-called Inflation Reduction Act that we are debating this evening, and I say so-called by the way, because according to the CBO and other economic organizations that have studied this bill, it will, in fact, have a minimal impact on inflation," Bernie Sanders, who voted for his party's bill, said on the Senate floor Saturday.

Fox News reports that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the Inflation Reduction Act is not going to bring down inflation and will actually worsen the recession some say we're currently in, adding that the Democrats’ attempts to paint the bill as deficit-reducing is a "gimmick." 

"It says it would reduce the deficit by $100 billion – we're going to spend almost a trillion dollars," the senator said, according to Fox News.

According to Smart Asset, economists say inflation is largely tied to increased federal government spending.

Paige Terryberry, senior analyst for fiscal policy at the John Locke Foundation confirms the current bout of inflation stems from the massive injection of cash since the pandemic’s onset.