Budget gimmicks

Senators Machin and Schumer have reached a private agreement regarding the $3.5 trillion dollar bill proposed by the house. The agreement apparently lowers the amount to $1.5 trillion. Before finding out what the changes are Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said a bill totaling $1.5 trillion wouldn’t be nearly enough investment to address the urgent threat of climate change. Here are some items in the bill that may not affect climate change. $108 billion for community college. $80 billion for Pell Grants. $450 billion for childcare. Medicare expansion to cover dental, hearing and vision. Extending child tax credit. Cutting prescription drug prices. $225 billion for paid family leave. Hundreds of other smaller items that have little to do with climate change. Many people who watch these things closely, realized long ago that much of this bill is not about climate change. Climate change was the political vehicle used to promote social change. The cost of these benefits are underestimated by using budget gimmicks. The standard way to “score” costs is to say what they’d be over the first decade. So to reduce sticker shock, the bill pretends that key new entitlements — in particular, a huge expansion of Medicaid — will expire after just three years. At that time they will be re-negotiated. Does anyone believe that after receiving a benefit for three years that voters will allow it to be stopped.