Rote repetition of “historic” was clearly meant to impress, but White House press gullibility notwithstanding, the word is not in and of itself a synonym of “beneficial.” The IRA is certainly not beneficial to the American people. Plus, anyone familiar with the Great Depression (and the work of J.K. Rowling) would note that other, deeply harmful legislation can properly be called “historic.” For example, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, the National Industrial Recovery Act, and the Agricultural Adjustment Act were all historic. Terrible, yes, but historic.

The IRA promises to be terrible, too. With only a limited time to respond, hundreds of economists warned Congress that the act would perpetuate, not reduce, inflation. In particular, the economists warned, “its $433 billion in proposed government spending would create immediate inflation pressures by boosting demand, while the supply-side tax hikes would constrain supply by discouraging investment draining the private sector of much-need resources.” Economist David R. Henderson, research fellow with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and editor of the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, explained in simple macroeconomic terms why the act would necessarily increase inflation. In his review of the act, University of Chicago economist Casey B. Mulligan found that over the next decade the IRA would likely reduce employment by 900,000, reduce GDP by 1.2 percent, reduce average household income by roughly $1,200, but increase the rate of inflation and the federal budget deficit.

So Biden’s lawn party was his own inept “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” moment, a deep breath before the plunge, the short-term interim between passage of the act and the full costs being felt.