Bill Clinton's star within the Democratic firmament has dimmed considerably in recent years. Some of this is rightfully concerns about his admitted and possible sexual transgressions. Things like the Crime Bill are unpopular, but that's usually among people who aren't old enough to remember how bad crime was in the '80s and '90s.
On economics, there developed a consensus that Clintonomics was just Eisenhower fiscal policy. By reducing the deficit, you would lower interest rates and spur private investment, went the theory. Reagan had exploded the deficit, crowding out private borrowers. When Clinton raised taxes and limited spending increases, the Fed reduced interest rates, touching off the internet boom of the '90s.
The situation is a bit different today with the Inflation Reduction Act. This is about reducing the need of the Fed to raise rates, by capturing some money through tax increases to pay off some of the debt. This removes money from the overall economy in the same way (albeit more slowly) than interest rate hikes remove it.
Still, the IRA is a good bill, especially in climate. In fact, it seems to be a more aggressive climate bill - in terms of reducing emissions - than anything Europe has done. It will still get pilloried from certain climate activists, which is a damned shame. This looks to be a really, really good bill.
Yes, Congress is a sausage factory, but sausage is delicious.
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