"Bidenomics" Is Nothing New

[Riddick]

Politics is sometimes little more than marketing. As evidence, behold the sudden use of the term "Bidenomics" by Democrats to describe administration policies of the past few years. Indeed, what's being branded as "new" is nothing but the same old program of big spending, big regulations, and big cronyism. The only difference is that it's on a much bigger scale.

The administration will need all the marketing it can get to sell these ideas, especially to a public that's been giving it approval ratings in the thirties. But no marketing effort should distract us from the economic realities of the past two years. If as claimed, Bidenomics is about building up the middle class, it isn't cutting it. Since 2021, real wages have fallen every month. Unsurprisingly, the fight against inflation has raised interest rates and mortgage rates, putting pressure on millions of household budgets.

A Hoover Institution study of Bidenomics looked at the impact of taxes, regulations, and spending. The authors found that "in the long run, Biden's full agenda would reduce full time equivalent employment per person by 3 percent, the capital stock per person by about 15 percent, real GDP per capita by more than 8 percent, and real consumption per household by 7 percent." Meanwhile, the failure to reform immigration and address the crisis at the border deprives the labor market and employers of the additional workers they need to produce more.

There is one area, however, where Bidenomics has been extremely successful: favoritism. The administration's industrial policy has aggressively subsidized preferred industries such as semiconductors and electric cars, sheltered special interests from the accountability of consumers through mandates and bans, and boosted the fortunes of its union friends. As WSJ's Andy Kessler noted, "All that's missing from his 'new Washington consensus' is Soviet-style Five Year Plans."

Bidenomics will make a few fat cats happy, but the result will be higher prices, slower growth, and fewer jobs. The rest of us will be left with a sour taste in our mouths, slimmer pocketbooks, and heightened worries for the future.

FULL STORY

[Malaria_Kidd II]

Gulp! OMG! I can't wait till L.G. Brandon slips well down into the low 20%!!


MK II