New York Times columnists admit Inflation Reduction Act is 'misnamed'

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The New York Times published its weekly "The Conversation" Monday, a written discussion between its writers about current events. In this week's publication, Times' columnists Gail Collins and Bret Stephens cast doubt on the honesty of the name "Inflation Reduction Act" - given to President Biden and Congressional Democrats' climate and tax bill that was signed into law earlier this month. 

"I’ll admit that the Inflation Reduction Act was perhaps not the perfect name for his bill," Collins said, "but what a moment for his presidency!"

Collins described the legislation as the "[f]irst time the country’s ever taken a big, serious step toward combating global warming."

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U.S. President Joe Biden (R) moves to give Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) (L) the pen he used to sign The Inflation Reduction Act with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) in the State Dining Room of the White House August 16, 2022 in Washington, DC.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

"And for once, I can imagine future generations looking back on what we’ve done and cheering," Collins continued. 

"I agree that the bill is misnamed," Stephens said. "It probably would have been better called the West Virginia Special Perks Act, after all the goodies Joe Manchin stuffed into it for his home state, or the Elon Musk Additional Enrichment Act, given all the tax rebates for buying electric vehicles."

The Wharton Budget Model and Congressional Budget Office both project that the Inflation Reduction Act will not actually reduce inflation. The Wharton model said the legislation’s impact on inflation is "statistically indistinguishable from zero," while the CBO's projection found the bill would have a "negligible" impact on inflation over the next two years.

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U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks before signing The Inflation Reduction Act in the State Dining Room of the White House August 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. The $737 billion bill focuses on climate change, lower health care costs and creating clean energy jobs by enacting a 15% corporate minimum tax, a 1-percent fee on stock buybacks and enhancing IRS enforcement.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Stephens also argued that history won't look back at the legislation as "some kind of turning point" in fighting climate change when other countries like China emit more carbon dioxide than the United States. 

However, the two Times' columnist lamented how the FBI's raid of former President Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago home took away attention from Biden and the Democrats' legislative victories. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, speaks at a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican Caucus Meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building on August 02, 2022 in Washington, DC. During the news conference the Republican Senators spoke on their dismay with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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"On the other hand, there’s the raid on Mar-a-Lago, which struck me as really, really ill advised. Tell me I’m wrong," Stephens said. 

"Well, I sorta hated that it created so many headlines during a week when Biden should have been getting all the attention for his accomplishments," Collins said. 

Critics of the Inflation Reduction Act argue that it will actually increase inflation, impoverish Americans, and weaponize the IRS to go after the middle class.