Nancy Pelosi Is Pushing a Pay-Go Provision Despite Objections from Progressives
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Nancy Pelosi is fighting for the 116th Congress rules to include pay-as-you-go provision, despite progressives urging her not to. Pay-as-you-go or pay-go was initially a conservative strategy used to hold the government captive by requiring that all new spending must be offset by budget cuts or tax increases. A spokesperson for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told The Intercept she would oppose, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said himself on Wednesday that he would also vote against it, drawing a hold line between Democrats and the presumptive house speaker.
Progressives hate this bill because if it passes, it will not only become more difficult to pass global quality-of-life bills such as Medicare for all, the Green New Deal and tuition-free college, but Republicans will also be able to mutilate the tax code in their favor. Yet Pelosi, who’ll be sworn in as speaker of the house on Thursday, wants to push the pay-go bill into play.
The light in which this paints Democrats won’t be good, either, especially against an opponent that preaches tax cuts. Liberal Democrats present new legislation that makes life better for as many people as possible. Because of pay-go, they’ll likely have to raise taxes. Republicans will point to Democrats as taking advantage of taxpayer funds and appeal to voters who care more about their wallets than their neighbors. However, even after midterms, Republicans will still control the White House and the Senate, meaning big-ticket Democratic items likely won’t pass anyway.
Communications director for Justice Democrats Waleed Shahid told The Intercept: