This Christmas, Senator Joe Manchin's gift to the American people was getting rid of the Build Back Better (BBB) bill. Like many people, the West Virginia senator wanted nothing of the ill-advised legislation that would have increased inflation and caused a host of other problems.

For several months, the senator made it clear what he thought of the bill. The Democrats did not like his position, and they even tried to turn voters against him.

Manchin could not take the legislation any longer. He declared:

"I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can't. I've tried everything humanly possible. I can't get there,"

Unions backed by Democrats would have benefited immensely from the $5 trillion BBB bill. The legislation would have federalized child-care and pre-K workers.

Generally, many gifts would have been handed out with the passing of the bill. Beneficiaries would have included the well-off in Democratic states, who would have gotten state and local tax deductions.

In short, the Build Back Better bill would have wasted a lot of money, and it would have also hurt West Virginia, Senator Manchin's state.

Although a few select people would have benefited from the bill, many other people would have suffered due to increased costs. As a result, there would have been higher inflation.

Additionally, although President Joe Biden argued that the bill was close to being "paid for," the reality was much different. Democrats were claiming that the cost of the bill was $1.75 trillion, but in reality, it was worth $5 trillion.

The estimate the Democrats gave was lower because they misled people by saying that some programs would be over within two years, which was not the case. Generally, the bill would have increased the federal deficit by $367 billion.

COVID relief bills have already had a huge impact on the federal debt, which has grown from just 67.3% of GDP to 122.5% of GDP, and that's before all the money has been spent.

Clearly, Manchin made the right decision by opposing the bill. Considering the number of people who clamored to have the legislation go through, his decision was also quite brave and controversial.

Still, Manchin was not alone in opposing the bill. At least 50 senators have voted against Build Back Better. It is just that the media and progressive politicians don't like to acknowledge the presence of Republicans.

Democrats might not realize it, but they are lucky that Manchin opposed the bill. This legislation would have been the largest expansion of social welfare ever since the New Deal.

Granted, everyone was glad when President Joe Biden took over from the unpredictable Donald Trump. Unfortunately, President Joe Biden has been trying to use the small House majority to get the Build Back Better bill passed.

At the moment, COVID is getting worse, and inflation is wiping out people's incomes. The fact that the president is a little difficult to understand has not helped things, and passing BBB would have only worsened the situation.

Hopefully, now that the BBB is a thing of the past, the president and his administration will focus more on what people need. As implausible as that sounds, it's fun to think about.