New York Times column suggests Dems saved 'civilization' with climate provisions in spending bill
Times' Paul Krugman called the act's green energy provisions 'huge step in the right direction'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Times opinion columnist Paul Krugman wrote that Democrats took a step toward saving the world by passing the Inflation Reduction Act in the Senate and setting the stage for climate change provisions as well as health reforms in the process.
"This is a very big deal. The act isn’t, by itself, enough to avert climate disaster. But it’s a huge step in the right direction, and sets the stage for more action in the years ahead," Krugman wrote, in a piece headlined, "Did Democrats Just Save Civilization?"
He went on to idealize the act as a "catalyst" for green technology "progress" while touting the economic benefits that could come in consequence of its expected passage in the House of Representatives.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Krugman also claimed the act could give the U.S. the "credibility it needs to lead a global effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions" before jumping into a lengthy critique of Republican opposition.
DEMOCRATS’ INFLATION REDUCTION ACT IS ‘ECONOMIC MALPRACTICE’: ECONOMIST
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on August 05, 2022 in Washington, D.C. Schumer spoke on the Inflation Reduction Act. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The article dismisses Republican talking points of "big spending" and "inflation" as well as their efforts to tie the Inflation Reduction Act to last year's American Rescue Plan, another package which took heat as excessive spending.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Actual experts on energy and the environment are giddy over what has been accomplished, and serious economists aren’t worried about the effect on inflation," Krugman wrote of the Inflation Reduction Act.
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"Energy analysts believe that any adverse climate effect from [concessions to Sen. Joe Manchin] will be swamped by the gains from tax credits for clean energy," he added, noting that President Biden's climate agenda remained "essentially intact" despite any concessions made before the act's Senate passage.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Smoke plumes from a factory in Rugby, England February 10, 2021. (REUTERS/Matthew Childs/File Photo)
Krugman went on to praise the Biden administration for promoting green energy policies rooted in incentivizing those who "do the right thing" instead of "penalties for doing the wrong thing," but lamented the administration's goals that were uprooted in the process – universal pre-K and child tax among them.
"But Democrats delivered on their climate promises, more or less in full," he wrote.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Krugman circled back to condemning Republicans by discrediting their claims that the bill would raise taxes on middle-class Americans before delving into a discussion of the bill's allegedly minimal impact on inflation.
"The Inflation Reduction Act calls for spending less than $500 billion over a decade, compared with the American Rescue Plan’s $1.9 trillion in a single year — and will actually reduce the deficit. That’s why independent analysts find that it will have little effect on inflation."
Her asserted green energy technology is the key to the act's impact and condemned Republicans' pushback against green energy tax credit incentives as "politics of spite."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Every Republican in the Senate was willing to kill our best chance at avoiding climate disaster, simply to deny the Biden administration a win," he said.