The Inflation Reduction Act Won’t Reduce Inflation

Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer

If you think inflation is sufficiently painful, gird your loins. The Biden administration is about to foist the “Inflation Reduction Act” upon us. The euphemistic name belies the high price we are going to pay for a likely political panacea rather than a policy solution.

The new spending bill is helpful — if you’re willing to give up more of your disposable income to higher taxes: It doubles the size of the Internal Revenue Service and pours $300 billion into climate solutions and something called “environmental justice” (which actually seems very unlikely to advance the cause of either the environment or justice).

It is also likely to drive up the cost of doing business. The bill levies tax hikes and onerous regulations against manufacturers, which will restrain supply, diminish production, and increase prices.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer