Manchin is either too rich or too glib:
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) poured cold water on President Biden’s attempt [during the State of the Union address] to revive the core elements of his Build Back Better agenda, questioning the president’s claim that passing a $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion spending package would “lower costs” for most Americans.
“They just can’t help themselves,” Manchin quipped when asked by reporters after Biden’s State of the Union speech whether he was surprised by the president’s effort to try to use the moment to try to revive his stalled climate and social spending plan. [The Hill]
But as most families that have clawed their way up the economic class ladder are aware, wise spending, also known as investment, usually pays off in the end. For example, you can buy all sorts of cheap shit at Walmart. Then it breaks or wears out quickly, and you have to replace it.
And again.
And again.
Anyone who does the math soon realizes that buying something that is initially more expensive, but holds together and doesn’t need to be replaced, is actually cheaper – over the lifetime of the initially more expensive product. When I’m looking at buying something new amidst a range of competing products, Low low price! is not on my list of requirements; instead, I’m looking for a price point midway, or higher than midway, through the price range, taking the price as a proxy for quality. Then I start checking consumer reviews online. There are no guarantees, but this approach quite often works.
Even with food, you can buy cheap shit that isn’t nutritious and end up at the doc for an expensive visit, or you can eat food that’s good for you for more money, and not end up at the expensive doc. The latter is what you want, financially and existentially.
The point is that staring at the initial price, as Manchin advocates, is misleading. The question really comes down to return on investment, or ROI as investment professionals call it. If we can put a billion dollars into child care and get two billion dollars of productivity, then Manchin should be made to explain why he’s against that. And that should be a fruitful discussion for both sides – because this where real debates begin.
But Manchin shooting his fool mouth off without acknowledging how this is an investment and not a commodity buy is just sheer deceit.
