Joe Versus Joe
The Democratic Party has had its ups and downs during 2020, being nearly as volatile as a penny stock. They won the January Senate runoffs, giving them the slightest advantage possible in the Senate. They lost House seats, but still managed to pass a stimulus bill. Then, the beauties of political gridlock arrived, and we didn’t see a major move until the infrastructure bill was passed, which wasn’t necessarily a big win because they had to cut things off. If you had to define it all with one word, it would be Joe.
Joe represents arguably the two most publicized political figures in 2021. The first is Democrat Joe Biden, who is the new president of the United States. The second is Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator from West Virginia, though some Democrats wouldn’t consider him to be one. Manchin has been the biggest wall in front of Biden’s plans, often showing resistance to his bills. This is happening once again as the Dems look to pass a 3.5 trillion-dollar bill focusing on antipoverty and climate change. The first challenge is obviously the political issue, with Manchin and other Democrats disputing the bill, leaving the eager Democrats facing a divide in their own party along with the Republicans. Second is the fiscal issue as people are worried about the heavy amount of borrowing. Even with Democrats focusing on how to find an acceptable way to fund the bill, some are saying that it’s impossible. This standoff could prevent the infrastructure bill from passing in the House as moderate Dems are playing tit for tat by resisting a yes vote, which makes things very confusing. What do you think about this standoff?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
