The reason why President Biden’s Build Back Better Act has failed to pass is because it raises taxes on the rich. Other budget bills like the CARES Act, the American Rescue Plan, and the bipartisan infrastructure bill all passed with support from all 50 Senate Democrats. The difference between these bills and the Build Back Better Act is that the latter is fully paid for by increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

The excuses that Senators Manchin and Sinema have respectively deployed for their opposition to the Build Back Better agenda simply don’t add up. What does make sense is that their billionaire donors wouldn’t like having to pay their fair share in taxes because of the bill. (Douglas Rooks, Patriotic Millionaires 10 Feb 2022).

My take. The US has gotten itself into a corner by allowing the very rich to get away with minimal taxation, the savings being used t0 protect that cozy arrangements by funding yes-men to stand for Congress. Having allowed this undemocratic arrangement to persist there seems to be no way of halting the tax pandering and kow-towing to the super-rich. One of the reasons ancient Rome fell apart was the growing gap between rich and poor (and never-ending wars). “But what is the use of history?” Sound familiar?