I was reminded of this old quote when we were discussing the “Inflation Reduction Act” which passed Congress last year. It passed finally because Senator Joe Manchin thought he had agreed to a law that would limit subsidies for electric cars to ones that were substantially made in the USA and that the subsidies would only be available to people with incomes below $150,000. Apparently the rule writers at the commerce department have found work arounds for both of these constraints. Instead of $300 billion the electric car subsidies are now expected to cost $1.2 trillion.

“So it goes.”