Aug 01, 2022

This Recession Is Real, and Inflation Is About to Get a Whole Lot Worse

Fuel to the fire: Senate Democrats recently signed off on a new bill called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Unfortunately, that name is about as ironic as it gets. This massive tax and spending bill will in fact make inflation worse in the midst of this very real recession that Americans are now suffering under.

It’s an addiction: The answer to inflation that leftist legislators present in this bill, and indeed their answer for everything lately, is to increase government spending by the hundreds of billions. It’s just the latest move in an ongoing federal spending spree that it seems they can’t help but perpetuate, despite its devastating effects on American families and businesses.

Our take: “Unfortunately, the Inflation Reduction Act doubles down on the same irresponsible fiscal policy that has caused inflation: All of the new government spending is upfront, while the deficit-reducing revenues are backloaded,” writes Matthew Dickerson, director of Heritage’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget.

Learn more: Read more about the bill and its potential effects here.

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The Fight Worth Having: Saving Marriage and the Family

In the news: The Senate is considering the deceptively named Respect for Marriage Act, which, if passed, would force the federal government to recognize any union between two or more individuals as marriage, regardless of sex or age, and would threaten innumerable people and institutions of faith with licensing revocation, loss of government funds, and stripping of nonprofit status.

Fighting Back: The bill has caused an uproar among conservative Americans, and no wonder—31 states across the union legally define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Conservative leaders are urging GOP senators to strike down the bill.

The bottom line: "This bill is about imposing the radical left’s sexual orthodoxy on the entire country, with no opportunity for debate or recourse. Those who care about our fundamental institutions should be appalled, and take action. If there is any fight worth having, after all, it is the fight to save marriage and the family,” writes Heritage President Kevin Roberts.

Learn more: Read Roberts’ full statement here.

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New HHS Rule Would Force Health Insurance to Cover Transgender Surgeries

A new threat: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a new rule last Monday that will force health insurance companies to cover expensive transgender surgeries and treatments, as well as require doctors to perform these procedures, including on minors, over their sincere and consistent medical objections.

Trust the science: Our scholars have new research that shows making puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones—often used in medical gender interventions beginning at age 12—more widely available elevates youth suicide rates. This rule will only make these treatments more accessible, thus putting even more young Americans at risk of permanent physical and psychological harm.

Our take: "What’s truly alarming about this rule is how it irresponsibly pushes transgender treatments despite no legal requirement to and in the face of faulty and contradicting evidence,” writes Roger Severino, Heritage’s vice president of domestic policy.

Learn more: Read more about this bill here.

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NEW RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

• A Tale of Three Presidential Houses: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
• Trading an Energy-Scarcity Agenda for Energy Abundance Pays Dividends
• The Administration and Congress Must Act Now to Counter the Worsening Military Recruiting Crisis
• U.S. Policymakers Should Remain Wary of Chinese Ambitions in the Arctic
• Why State Legislatures Must Confront Chinese Infiltration
• How Gender Ideology Cost a Chicago Mother Custody of Her Child

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ALWAYS ON OFFENSE

Heritage Foundation President Dr. Kevin Roberts will join Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Peter Thiel as a featured speaker at the National Conservatism Conference in Miami, Sept. 11-13. Heritage is pleased to sponsor this conference and the conversations that will shape the future of America. Register today!

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EVENTS

Shut Down: How Universities Target Free Speech and How to Fight Back, Monday, Aug. 1, noon

Join us to learn about First Amendment rights on campus and what you can do to protect them.

Register here.

A Matter of Survival: The Future of Taiwan Arms Sales, Thursday, Aug 4, 2 p.m.

The U.S. is Taiwan’s lifeline, not least because it is the only nation in the world that dares to sell it arms. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concern about Taiwan’s central node in global supply chains, these sales have assumed renewed and intense attention. Join us as we discuss the best way forward.

Register here.

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HERITAGE PODCASTS

“The Kevin Roberts Show”: Known to many as the "cowgirl governor," South Dakota’s Kristi Noem joins Kevin Roberts to share her journey from ranch life to the governor's mansion, and the battles she’s led in South Dakota—from tax reform to pandemic lockdowns. Listen to the episode here.

“Heritage Explains”: This week, EJ Antoni, a research fellow in Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis, chats with us about what exactly marks a recession, and more importantly—looking beyond politics and definitions—explains what everyday Americans should expect now that the recession is official. Listen to the episode here.

Check out Heritage’s complete lineup of podcasts here.

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HERITAGE IN THE NEWS

“It’s clear that [the Biden administration is] not following [inflation] at all,” EJ Antoni, research fellow in Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis, said on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “The only thing they’re following are the polls. For example, the president was quick to cite the unemployment rate but not the fact that … the number of people having to take multiple jobs is going up. Why is that happening? Probably because savings are dropping like a rock. … The middle class is getting absolutely crushed by his tax of inflation.” Watch the clip here.

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