The Democrats’ “Inflation Reduction Act” which, per the Congressional Budget Office, will increase taxes on the middle class by $20 billion, not to mention release an army of IRS agents on working-class Americans throughout the next decade, was facilitated by Bill Gates and (to a lesser extent) Larry Summers, who have been known to hang out with each other.
Naturally, the legislation was signed yesterday.
In a Tuesday Bloomberg news piece that sees more like a newsletter for the Bill Gates supporters group, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft recounts how previously this year, as moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema proceeded to halt the tax-and-spend legislation out of worry that it would elevate taxes levied on the middle class (it will), Gates claims he exploited a relationship with Manchin that he had been fostering since at least 2019.
Gates was banking on more than just his trademark optimism about addressing climate change and other seemingly intractable problems that have been his focus since stepping down as Microsoft’s chief executive two decades ago. As he revealed to Bloomberg Green, he has quietly lobbied Manchin and other senators, starting before President Joe Biden had won the White House, in anticipation of a rare moment in which heavy federal spending might be secured for the clean-energy transition.
Those discussions gave him reason to believe the senator from West Virginia would come through for the climate — and he was willing to continue pressing the case himself until the very end. “The last month people felt like, OK, we tried, we’re done, it failed,” Gates said. “I believed it was a unique opportunity.” So he tapped into a relationship with Manchin that he’d cultivated for at least three years. “We were able to talk even at a time when he felt people weren’t listening.”
-Bloomberg
According to reports, Gates and Manchin’s friendship started after the business magnate lured the senator from West Virginia over meal in Seattle in 2019 in a bid to win over backing for clean energy legislation. Manchin was the most senior Democrat on the energy committee at the time.
“My dialogue with Joe has been going on for quite a while,” said Gates.
Gates acted quickly when Manchin (again) pulled away from the bill in December due to worries that it would increase the national debt, inflation, the pandemic, and the level of geopolitical unrest with Russia. A few weeks later, he had dinner with Manchin and his wife Gayle Conelly Manchin, at a restaurant in Washington DC, where they discussed the state of West Virginia. Manchin obviously wanted to protect jobs in the heart of the US coal sector, whereas Gates stated that coal plant workers might simply switch to nuclear reactors, such as those built by Gates’ TerraPower.
Manchin appeared to be unconvinced, declaring on February 1 that the previous version of the Inflation Reduction Act, “Build Back Better” was “dead.”
Democrats gathered a team of economists and other Manchin-influencing figures to try to persuade him otherwise, including former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, who persuaded Manchin that the plan would not increase taxes on the middle class or increase the deficit.
Collin O’Mara, chief executive officer of the National Wildlife Federation, recruited economists to assuage Manchin’s concerns — including representatives from the University of Chicago and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware brought in a heavyweight: former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, who has spent decades advising Democrats.
The economists were able to “send this signal that [the bill’s] going to help with the deficit,” O’Mara said. “It’s going to be slightly deflationary and it’s going to spur growth and investment in all these areas.” Through this subtle alchemy, clean-energy investments could be reframed for Manchin as a hedge against future spikes in oil and gas prices and a way to potentially export more energy to Europe.
-Bloomberg
On July 7, Gates swung into action once more when Manchin was sighted at the Sun Valley media convention in Idaho, which Gates also attended.
“We had a talk about what was missing, what needed to be done,” Gates said. “And then after that it was a lot of phone calls.”
Gates looks back at the new law with satisfaction. He achieved what he set out to do. “I will say that it’s one of the happier moments of my climate work,” Gates said. “I have two things that excite me about climate work. One is when policy gets done well, and this is by far the biggest moment like that.” His other pleasure comes from interviewing people at climate and clean-tech startups: “I hear about this amazing new way to make steel, cement and chemicals.”
-Bloomberg
In the article about how he gets the credit for what happened, Gates states, “I don’t want to take credit for what went on.”
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Who’s behind Bill Gates ? ……… …….shalom
I’m not convinced the USG could “soak the rich” EVEN IF IT WANTED TO. As for Senator Manchin, I wish him a long and happy retirement.
hi
This article shows the connection between the plan for saving the earth and high taxes for the people. This also shows how private players who do not represent the people of that country influence the policies of the governments. What could be their motive?