Politics

After months of gridlock, America’s Senate passed a giant spending bill focusing on climate change, health care and tax reform. In a big advance for Joe Biden’s green agenda, families and companies will be given incentives to buy electric cars and energy-efficient appliances, and clean-energy generation will be expanded. On health, the government will be allowed to negotiate lower prices with drug firms, which will benefit the elderly. The tax reforms include a 15% minimum corporate tax based on income reported to shareholders. Named the Inflation Reduction Act, it is anything but. Still, it is a win for Mr Biden, a year after the demise of his larger $3.5trn spending bill.