We’ve made the case that with 87,000 more IRS agents, the Biden administration will weaponize tax enforcement by targeting Republicans and conservatives for audits and harassment. Biden’s already done that with the FBI and Justice Department – as we’ve discovered with the outrageous raid on the Trump residence in Mara Lago. The Democrat's agenda is to search and destroy those who stand in the way of their political agenda.
Now the folks at Openthebooks.com reports that the IRS is armed with real weapons – guns, ammo, and military equipment.
"The Internal Revenue Service, with its 2,159 'Special Agents,' spent $21.3 million on guns, ammunition and military-style equipment between fiscal years 2006 and 2019. The agency stockpiled 4,500 guns and five million rounds of ammunition."
Bill Dunkelburg of the National Federation of Independent Businesses just released his monthly small biz confidence survey for July. There was a slight uptick in confidence from June, but the numbers are still depressing. A few takeaways:
Thirty-seven percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business, the highest level since 1979.
Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months stand at a net negative 52 percent, one of the worst numbers in decades.
56% of owners raised prices in July, which is a sign of inflation.
The net percent of owners who expect real sales to be higher over the next year stands at a net negative 29 percent, a very bearish outlook.
An excellent editorial in the WSJ yesterday quantifies the sheer idiocy of this $380 billion subsidy for green energy. According to the analysis, even when adopting the United Nations’ own climate modeling:
“The Schumer-Manchin Bill will reduce the estimated global temperature rise at the end of the century by all of 0.028 degrees Fahrenheit in the optimistic case. In the pessimistic case , the temperature difference will be 0.0009 degrees Fahrenheit.”
So if the climate models of future temperature rises are correct – which they surely are not – instead of the average temperature of the earth in 2100 being 62 degrees Fahrenheit, it will be between 61.972 to 61.999 degrees.
If you think this bill will save the planet, you also probably believe it will reduce inflation.
4) Pelosi Can Only Lose Four House Democrats To Pass Inflation Acceleration Act
We are not too optimistic, but the House vote on Friday is going to be close. Thankfully, every Republican is expected to vote no.
Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat who represents a district that Donald Trump carried by six points, is probably a no. He has just started running a brutal ad back home where he states:
“I was the only Democrat to vote against trillions of dollars of President Biden’s agenda because I knew it would make inflation worse,” he says. “In Congress, I’m an independent voice for you, taking on my own party to stand up for Maine families.” Look for that “inflation worse” quote to appear in countless GOP attack ads this fall.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat from Deep in the Heart of Texas defeated a progressive challenger in his primary. He could defect. He represents a district full of oil and gas workers and has not yet signed on to the bill.
Kurt Schrader, a moderate Democrat from Oregon, owes his party no favors. His liberal state legislature stuffed his district with more liberal voters during redistricting and he lost his May primary to a progressive. He has voted against Biden's spending plans before and now says: “I think the Democratic Party has moved quite a bit to the left, moving out from underneath me. The socialist wing of the party is taking over.”
Other House Democrats could be vulnerable to voter pressure: Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Tom O’Halleran of Arizona, and Jim Costa of California come to mind. Carolyn Bourdeaux, a moderate from Georgia, lost her primary this year to Lucy McBath, a liberal colleague who was redistricted into her seat. She would have nothing to lose by voting against the Manchin-Schumer monstrosity – except a lowly desk job in the Biden admin.
5) 75% Of Electric Vehicles May Be Ineligible For The Biden Subsidies
Maybe the Manchin-Schumer bill won’t be quite so expensive after all.
The bill includes a huge tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying a new EV and $4,000 for A used ONE
But many EVs won’t meet the requirements Manchin insisted on that the cars are built in North America with minerals mined or recycled on this continent. The Associated Press estimates some 50 of the 72 electric or hybrid models now being sold won’t meet the requirement. John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance of Automotive Innovation, predicts that “no vehicles will qualify for this purchase over the next few years.”
Auto industry expert Patrick Anderson of Michigan calculates that as many as 75% of EVs will be ineligible for the subsidies – in part because the batteries are predominantly made in China.
