The ridiculous “free” price tag on the reconciliation bill — $3.5 trillion — House Speaker Pelosi hopes to vote on next week is so obscene it starts to feel a bit like Democrats wouldn’t possibly believe anyone would actually accept it. It’s too absurd, right? It’s a job killer, and there’s a weird provision that allows OSHA to fine businesses literally out of existence if they violate the obscene vaccination mandate the Biden admin is trying to jackboot everyone into following. From The Daily Wire:

Over the weekend, House Democrats reportedly snuck a provision into the controversial $3.5 trillion “reconciliation” bill that could raise the fines for violating the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate from $14,000 per violation to $70,000 per violation, and “willful” and “repeat” violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations could cost some businesses a shocking $700,000 per incident.

“Buried on page 168 of the House Democrats’ 2,465-page mega bill is a tenfold increase in fines for employers that ‘willfully,’ ‘repeatedly,’ or even seriously violate a section of labor law that deals with hazards, death, or serious physical harm to their employees,” Forbes reported Tuesday.

But it’s all real, and we’re still being told that a majority of Americans wanted this and voted for it and are happy to see it, which is increasingly incredibly difficult to believe (especially that last part). Texas GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw hit on something I think speaks to what these tinpot dictators on the left are really after. Here’s a partial transcript of an interview he gave to Fox News, emphasis mine:

DAN CRENSHAW: It’s not free. Nothing is free, Brian. I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a good explanation for this because there isn’t one and I’ll tell you what, it’s also well above $3 trillion. I mean, the new estimates on it—based on actually going through it and the Budget Committee—are almost $4.5 trillion and there’s only about $2 trillion in tax increases. So, I know math is hard for Democrats and especially so for the ones who govern, but this math doesn’t work out. The other really interesting thing about this is their lack of understanding about basic economics. Biden said it cost zero dollars. That’s like saying when I go buy a cup of coffee, just because I paid for it, that it doesn’t cost anything, but of course it costs something. Look, I think what this bill really boils down to is straight up bribery for the progressive agenda, for the progressive activists, and trying to bribe the American people. I’ll tell you what, because of this bill you might need those bribes because it’s going to kill your jobs and it’s going to kill your wages. You know, if you’re in the energy sector it’s an estimated 90,000 jobs lost because of the provisions that are in this bill and the natural gas tax, for instance. Not only that, but your electricity prices are going to go up as a result and you’re not going to have reliable energy, ok, just like the problems in California and frankly that’s what led to some of the problems in Texas. There’s a lot of bad stuff in this. I mean, the corporate tax increase will kill jobs. Not only that, but economists estimate it will also reduce wages. So, this is bad on so many fronts. It will lead to slower growth and stagnation and inflation, which is just not something Americans need right now.

That bribery he refers to — which he says may ultimately be some Americans only recourse because they’ll have killed jobs and livelihoods using legislation like this to the degree that government handouts will be all some people have to feed their families — is one of the ultimate goals of this kind of extreme, insane, government overreach. Politicians have to justify their existence more than almost any other profession because they don’t actually create anything useful. Just more government. That’s not to say they don’t do important work, but they don’t give a whole lot back to the marketplace.

But if they can be everyone’s Uncle Sugar — well, then they’re necessary.

I cover all that on today’s show, as well as discuss horror for kids in the creepy, and just in time for Halloween, “Nightbooks” (trailer below). And be sure to listen long enough to hear about the delightful red-pilling of Russell Brand.

Earbuds in.

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