“You can’t always get what you want…But if you try sometime you’ll find, you get what you need,” are words from a Rolling Stones song that might be appropriate for President Biden since he signed into law the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act).
He certainly didn’t get all he wanted but he got some of things Americans desperately need, and should shout a collective appreciation for.
No act of this size and consequence—bringing down the cost of prescription drugs, seriously combating climate change, and punishing fossil fuel companies for their methane excesses—can come without some concessions, some give and take.
It’s unfortunate that Biden didn’t achieve the nuts and bolts of his Build Back Better, but substantial gains were made after an interminably long and exhausting fight with the GOP—and a couple of Dems—to get this monumental act into law.
Sure, the working people in this country could have used a bit more heft to their incomes, particularly given the escalating cost of living, but Biden can take a victory lap across the sands of Kiawah Island in South Carolina, where First Lady Jill Biden is recovering from COVID-19.
It’s a fresh opportunity for them to take a break, get rejuvenated, and get ready for a full throttle run into the upcoming primaries. Biden has a number of things he can crow about, from the increase in the number of jobs to bolstering the semiconductor bill, and the DNC should aid and abet such a campaign.
Nope—not the Jordan Peele movie—you can’t always get what you want but Biden has delivered one of the most consequential pieces of law since the Affordable Care Act and pretty much put a garland around his legacy.