I’d like to share with Joe Biden something an attorney told me about 20 years ago: “The first bite is free.”
That advice was shared with me shortly after the outside cat that was living at our house sunk his teeth – unprovoked – into the chest of my neighbor’s young grandson. His parents were both lawyers.
My heart went out to the child, first. Then I began worrying about what, if any, legal action the parents might take against me and my husband for giving free reign to a vicious animal.
Sad to say, we had the cat put to sleep. We couldn’t risk anymore unwarranted attacks on her part. And I had many scratches on my legs to prove that she wasn’t all that loving.
I thought of that cat – and oddly enough, the American taxpayer – when I read in the news today about the Biden’s dog, Major, attacking yet another federal employee. The altercation took place at the White House South Lawn where the employee was working.
A White House press person told CNN that Major, the Biden’s adopted German Shepherd, was “still adjusting to his new surroundings.” But this was not his first nip, as the White House referred to it.
Unfortunately, once a dog or cat is prone to biting, there’s no going back.
And that is exactly what is happening with the president and the American taxpayer.
Joe Biden was elected as our leader under the guise of being a moderate – a politician who has the interest of all of us at heart. He is a man who will not cave into the unrealistic demands of the far left, we were led to believe. So, while he may be taxing and spending – as all politicians like to do – it won’t be that bad.
The first bite came in the form of the $2 trillion so-called Covid relief bill passed on March 7. The bill provided financial relief for middle and low-income families, extended unemployment insurance and tax credits for families, plus earmarked $70 billion to increase vaccinations and Covid testing. I could go along with that.
But it also included $150 million for grants in arts and the humanities, $93 million in additional spending for the legislative branch administration, $100 million for expanding broadband services in rural areas, $50 million for the safe return of FBI, drug enforcement and U. S. Marshalls stationed abroad during the coronavirus, $60 million to support operational delays at NASA due to the coronavirus and on and on.
The grand total was more than the nip the Biden dog likes to inflict. Did we really need to spend that much?
The second bite appears to be arriving on March 31 in the form of an infrastructure bill that will cost $2 trillion. $1 trillion in the proposal is expected to go toward traditional construction and improvement of roads, bridges, rail lines, ports and schools, while improving power grids. President Trump had floated similar ideas with no apparent support from Democrats while he was in office.
I remember a news commentator saying recently that the infrastructure is no problem in China. If they need a new road, they build it. Well, yes, they also operate as a totalitarian government, which isn’t our style – yet.
The second part of the spending package aims to tackle racial and gender equity – whatever that means. This part would dedicate money to education and programs designed to increase female participation in the workforce, which is already slightly more than 50 percent. Must we women do everything?
The big nip in this bill comes in the form of a corporate tax hike that boosts the current rate from 21 percent to 28 percent. Who among us thinks that raising taxes for corporations won’t have a trickle-down impact on all consumers? Looks like we’ll be waving goodbye to all the corporate money that recently returned to the U. S. from offshore accounts.
I’ve heard there are many more proposals to come – all with big price tags and increased taxes.
Eventually we’ll all feel the bite.