Unless you’re engaged with politics, you are an ardent Democrat, or you’re a resident of the state of West Virginia, the name Joe Manchin is unlikely to elicit a reaction. In fact, the name might not register at all. 🤷 However, for the unacquainted — Manchin is perhaps the most disliked Democrat in the Senate.
He collects anger from the political right and from many members of his own party. Manchin has become a hot-topic in political spheres because of his opposition to the Biden Administration’s progressive agenda — namely Biden’s flagship political treatise, Build Back Better.
Moderate Democrats (like Biden) dislike him — but Progressive Democrats (think AOC and Bernie) hate him. And you can bet your bottom dollar that if Democrats lose ground in November (fair to moderate odds as of this writing), many will be clamoring to fault Manchin for the loss.
However, Manchin’s latest war cry is a surprising ask — he reportedly wants Democrats to revisit tax-rate hikes in order to arrest the country’s inflation and debt problems. If he gets what he wants, it might even put pressure on the Democrats’ final voice… controversial moderate Democrat, Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who has resisted rolling back GOP tax cuts.
Manchin laid out his asks for the tax-and-spending bill in December 2021, saying that he wanted a “slimmer bill” that “overhauls the U.S. tax code to make it fairer … [and lowers] the cost of a broader array of prescription drugs than the current bill.”
Ultimately, Manchin’s support increases the likelihood that Biden’s agenda (albeit, boiled down) will see the light of day again. In the case Manchin can somehow muster some support out of Sinema, then we could see higher taxes coming for corporations and rich Americans as early as tax year 2023. 📈