Shortly after Manchin’s gaslighting statement as to why he is a no vote and his Faux News appearance declaring that, Goldman Sachs released an adjusted forecast for the U.S. 2022 GDP growth:
now projects 2% growth in the first quarter, followed by 3% and 2.75% in the following two periods. Goldman previously expected growth of 3%, 3.5% and 3%.
Roughly, considering annualized rates, Goldman Sachs is projecting a shaving of about 0.5% off the U.S. GDP (economy) in 2022 from what might have occurred with Build Back Better provisions. With a $22T economy, this means a reduction of roughly $110B in 2022 and a compounding cost for every year that follows (with both the lowered base rate due to reduced growth along with lowered investment & returns due to the Build Back Better not being in place). Projected across 10 years, with that compounding implications and all the uncertainties, Goldman is project a 2032 economy over $1T smaller due to a failure to move forward with (funded) investment of $175B per year.
The stock markets have also reacted, strongly, to Manchin’s actions. By mid-day Monday, the Manchin Slump was hitting stocks hard with U.S. markets down about 1.75 percent. With roughly (changing by the second ...) a NYSE and NASDAQ total market capitalization of ballpark $50 trillion, the markets have already shaved over $1.3T 24 hours after a Faux News appearance with additional damage likely to come. That $1.3T is over 60 percent of the being negotiated (utterly inadequate) $1.75T Build Back Better program (which, of course, was a ten-year funded program with outsized benefits to come for people, the economy, and (climate) security).
We know that Manchin’s actions will hurt people … will really hurt real people. How many millions of young people will be back in poverty by February? How many will struggle to pay for child care? How much will it is slow climate action (and thus worsen risks and vulnerabilities for all indefinitely into the future)? How much is Joe hurting the US (and us all)?
In any event, economists believe that Manchin has dealt a blow to U.S. economic strength and investors believe them. Between forecasted lower GDP and stock market losses, Manchin’s backstabbing has already — in about 24 hours — had a financial cost several times larger than the total Federal Build Back Better investment plan.
Is it possible that Coal Joe might listen to these numbers (or that his financial backers will realize the pain that he is causing to their stock portfolios) and be open to some form of rethinking his (gaslighting-filled) reasons for declaring himself a no vote on Build Back Better.