File this in the \u201cinformation I wish I didn\u2019t know\u201d category.\u00a0\u00a0Sausage is a mix of ground meat, spices, seasonings, and some kinds of grain or meal; all mixed together.\u00a0\u00a0But no one wants to eat a \u201cmash\u201d. So it\u2019s shaped and stuffed into a tube called a casing. That\u2019s what makes it \u201csausage\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0And what\u2019s the casing made of?\u00a0\u00a0Well, a natural casing is made of the sub-mucosa layer of animal intestines.\u00a0\u00a0It could be pig, or cow, or goat, or even a horse!\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s the \u201ctastiest\u201d kind of sausage.\u00a0\u00a0The casing lends a flavor to the \u201cinnards\u201d (or is the “innards” really the casing – I’m not sure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More mundane sausage is now contained by a polymer coating: nylon or polypropylene. There are also cellulose and collagen wraps. Doesn\u2019t that sound tasty. Since the artificial casing holds the flavor in, and doesn\u2019t lend any flavor of its own, they don\u2019t become part of the \u201csausage experience\u201d. And knowing that might make you really think about eating bites of whole sausage anymore. Maybe you should peal the edge off the bologna. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These essays are often political, and very, very seldom explain gastronomic delights.\u00a0\u00a0They do however, often deal with legislation, and we sure have been talking about \u201cmaking sausages\u201d recently.\u00a0\u00a0It seems only fitting that we should have a better understanding what goes into the real thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today (or tomorrow), the United States House of Representatives will vote on the \u201cBuild Back Better\u201d plan.\u00a0This is not of interest to the Republican Congressmen; they will, to a woman and man, vote against it.\u00a0\u00a0The Republicans aren\u2019t interested in \u201cmaking\u201d this sausage, in fact, they are vegan when it comes to the \u201cBuild-Back-Better\u201d bill.\u00a0\u00a0Nope, the sausage making is a wholly Democratic affair, and, like most things involving the always raucous Democratic caucus, there\u2019s a whole lot of sausage making going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201dchefs\u201d in this sausage-making game are much the same Democrats as those that \u201ccooked\u201d up the final \u201cBIB\u201d (bipartisan infra-structure bill) the was signed into law this week. The \u201ctwo\u201d sides are the Democratic moderates and the Democratic progressives. But part of the true art of sausage making, is that there isn\u2019t just two sides. There are shades of moderation and progressivism, and even some progressives who are extremely \u201cmoderate\u201d on some issues (for example, Senator Kristin Sinema, progressive on the environment, almost beyond moderate to full Republican on government negotiating with \u201cbig pharma\u201d). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So no wonder the \u201craucous, caucus\u201d has struggled to figure out what goes into Build-Back-Better.\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s so much they want to fix.\u00a0\u00a0They want to\u00a0\u00a0take care of people\u2019s health: child care, cut prescription costs, Medicare hearing and eye care and home health.\u00a0\u00a0 They want to \u201cfix\u201d\u00a0\u00a0the world:\u00a0\u00a0improving the climate, energy, modernizing education and creating affordable housing.\u00a0\u00a0And finally they want to improve our system of taxation, with the wealthy paying a fairer share of the burden.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amazingly, with all of those \u201cwants\u201d,\u00a0\u00a0they managed to stuff their sausage in a casing that pays for all the programs.\u00a0\u00a0The United States government, known for dipping deeply into the trough of national debt, particularly when it comes to national defense, has found a way to pay for what it wants.\u00a0\u00a0The House bill spends $1.68 trillion over ten years (that\u2019s $168 billion a year \u2013 less than a third of what we spend annually on national defense).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those of us (and that\u2019s most of us) who are worried about all that spending fueling inflation, here\u2019s the best part. Inflation is normally caused by increases in the supply of money. When the government heavily spends more than it brings in, it essentially creates more money. More money in supply means that the money is worth less \u2013 prices go up. But if the Build Back Better legislation is paid for, there\u2019s no increase in money supply, and no inflationary pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technically, the Congressional Budget Office rates it as creating a ten year $160 Billion deficit \u2013 that\u2019s $16 billion a year. But the CBO does not count the program that improves the Internal Revenue Service so that it collects more tax monies. That improvement should bring in more than $400 billion over ten years, actually making BBB budget positive. And if you\u2019re worried about the IRS \u201ccoming for you\u201d: then you\u2019re making a whole lot more money than I am, and you\u2019re cheating on your taxes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n No wonder the Republicans are against it. No surprise that Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy gave a rambling eight and a half hour speech to hold up the final vote. The Build-Back-Better bill does all the things the Republican Party is against \u2013 rich people paying taxes, poor people having housing, old people getting medical care, everyone paying less for medicine. Oh Hell no \u2013 line \u2018em up, every Republican in Congress will vote against this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Speaker Pelosi finally bangs down the gavel on the Build Back Better bill, we\u2019re halfway there. The good news is that the Democratic House Moderates kept their word, the promise they made when the Progressives helped pass the Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Bill. But the sausage making is only beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two most moderate Democrats in the Senate, Manchin and Sinema, have designated a \u201ccasing\u201d quite a bit smaller than the House\u2019s casing. So when the Senate gets the $1.68 trillion BBB Bill, they\u2019re going to have to split the House casing, and stuff what they can in Manchin\u2019s casing (of course polymer based, though if they could make a coal-based casing, he\u2019d use it). It\u2019s going to be smaller, maybe more like a trillion dollars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is an old Yiddish word that\u2019s incredibly descriptive: a \u201cblivet\u201d. Technically it\u2019s ten pounds of\u2026manure\u2026in a five pound bag. Joe Manchin\u2019s holding the casing, and the Senate is going to decide what sausage fits in and what doesn\u2019t. In the end, like any good compromise, probably no one will be fully \u201chappy\u201d. But Democrats are on course to deliver Build Back Better as a Christmas present to the American people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It might be a \u201cblivet\u201d, but it should be tasty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Blevit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n