It’s the surprise of the month of August. Less than 100 days before the midterm elections, the American Democrats have succeeded in overcoming the divisions that have paralyzed them for 18 months and in rallying around an “anti-inflation” plan, which, if not is not as ambitious as the program on which Joe Biden was elected in 2020, will allow them to campaign in the fall on an unexpected result. A major success for the American president, jostled by an accumulation of setbacks and a seesaw economy.
Adopted Sunday, August 7 by the Senate, without the slightest Republican vote, the bill says to “reduction of inflation”, A lighter version of the spring’s vast Build Back Better plan, blocked by the party’s moderates, will allow the Democrats to try to remobilize their base as the campaign for the November 8 election begins. A largely disenchanted base, misunderstanding why their elected officials do not achieve anything while their party holds the White House, the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate (thanks to the voice of the Vice-President).
Thanks to the adoption of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats will be able to claim progress “historical”, according to their Senate leader Chuck Schumer, matching their campaign promises. The text provides for the reduction in the price of drugs for the elderly, a demand acclaimed by the vast majority of Americans, ulcerated at having to pay up to ten times more than in Canada for similar prescriptions. From 2026, the Minister of Health will be authorized to negotiate directly with laboratories to lower the price of ten drugs, a saving of 300 billion dollars (about 294 billion euros) in ten years.
More equitable distribution of tax
The bill also includes the largest investment ever made in the United States for climate defense: 369 billion over ten years. The plan will make it possible to accelerate the development of renewable energies, to subsidize the purchase of electric cars, to finance the energy transition for households and businesses. The United States should achieve a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030.
The text also provides for a fairer distribution of tax. It raises to 15% the tax rate for companies that make a profit of more than 1 billion dollars and introduces a 1% tax on share buybacks, which allows companies to maintain prices, for the benefit of shareholders. The expected revenue, estimated at 300 billion, is supposed to finance the social and environmental measures of the plan while reducing the deficit.
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