The Democratic National Committee (DNC) claims that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) “expands Medicare benefits by providing free vaccines; $35 per month limit on insulin; caps out-of-pocket drug costs to around $4,000 or less in 2024 and even lower to $2,000 maximum by 2025.
Contrary to what many democrats may think, or at least acquiesce for the votes, vaccines are in fact not free, they are paid for by the manufacturers and taxpayers. Since 2020, we have seen one of the largest wealth transfers in US history, where large pharmaceutical companies are in cahoots with the US government, and others, pressuring and coercing masses in an outright fascist manner to take their nearly experimental drugs at the expense of taxpayers.
Vaccine manufacturers during the Covid-19 scares have been charging tens to hundreds of times over the cost of manufacturing and distributing compared to current and previous vaccines and medications. Every time someone is injected with a vaccine, the manufacturer is profiting even if there is no direct cost to the “consumer” since it is funded through taxes.
It is not the manufacturers’ profits or their margins that are a concern; it is that their products have been coercively forced upon us with threat of our life, liberty, and property, by our very own government which are made up of individuals that swore to protect those supposed self-evident truths.
With the remaining caps, limits, and maximums set, the US government is also implying to pay for any overhead costs these manufacturers and distributors may incur due to the limitations set forth by the new laws. So, where $35 may very well become the limit on insulin, this does not mean the manufacturer cannot claim any losses on their taxes, or get the amounts covered through other programs robbing Peter to pay Paul.
This means that where the public eye might see they personally pay X directly out of pocket, they are actually paying more on the backend insuring the manufacturers continue to profit perhaps even more than they did prior to the agreements. It certainly provides special privilege to the few manufacturers that are allowed into the members’ only club while leaving rest of the market outside to fend for themselves with unequal standing, benefits, or protections. Passing costs tends to raise prices over time while redistributing wealth and power from one group to another.
If the US government actually cared about the health of its citizenry, why wouldn’t they just allow more competition within the marketplace as opposed to creating a caste system that benefits a few at the expense of the citizen? There are many companies wanting to compete in the pharmaceutical industry with just as high of standards and at a fraction of the current costs, yet they are barred from entering the US market due to the oligarchical monopolies of affiliation. Instead of allowing more manufacturers in to lower costs for the citizen consumer, the US government is taking more money from citizens while redistributing it to the privy few companies.
A second point the DNC celebrates within the new IRA is the lowering of energy bills. For homeowners who wish to go solar with a 30% federal income tax credit towards the installation of solar on a home. There are also tax incentives for those that wish to purchase electric vehicles giving $3500 to $7000 back, paid for by taxes.
With the push for electric vehicles, many current electrical grids cannot handle the surge in power use from electric vehicles, so moving towards solar does lift some of the burden but it does not solve the growing power grid concerns and it certainly does not address inflation. Not only is the IRA encouraging more individuals to have electric vehicles, but a title in the bill also funds all of the US Postal Service to go fully electric. In fact, this suggests further costs will be required for grid reconstruction or power supply restructuring; especially with the move towards reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions which makes nuclear a more readily available alternative to coal burning for electrifying grids.
Overall, the IRA is not only a massive redistribution scheme, but it is also going to aid in the worsening of inflation. Congress, especially Democrats, and President Biden have done more to help a few in the hopes for votes all at taxpayer expense and at the threat of reduced purchasing power for the US dollar.
