Opinion

HART: Welcome To The Delusional Economy Of Biden’s America

(Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

Ron Hart Contributor
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A recent poll analyzed by the Wall Street Journal found that Americans are stuck in a state of discontent. Economic malaise, which was so much a part of the feckless Carter administration, seems to be having its second act under Biden and the Democrats. Gas prices rising, store shelves not fully stocked, inflation in lumber and beef prices — all maladies that inordinately hurt the middle class.

Lumber prices have gone up so much that I saw a termite at the Range Rover dealership paying cash for the only car left on the lot.

And what are the Democrats in D.C. and the media doing? They are focused on the Jan. 6 protest at the U.S.  Capitol and trying, in a Russian-hoax-kind-of-way, to channel their inner Comey and “get” Trump for what they think he should have done. What a waste of time.

Biden is not known to be knowledgeable about economics; he is a life-long politician. He appoints socialist types to high level positions. They are doing to our country what socialist policies did to Venezuela. With all the college-cultivated (a.k.a. indoctrinated, not educated) millennials, who were never taught about the ills of socialism or communism, it is easy for politicians to sell them the fool’s gold of such policies. Given their lack of understanding of both economics and political policies, coddled millennials are AOC’s natural prey.

If voters understood free-market economics, they would never vote for a Democrat. The real heroes of any town are the business owners who pay taxes, employ people and give back. Do not look at some long-serving politician in a town, one who had the road named after him built with your tax dollars. Look at the advertising signs on the fences at your Little League baseball fields.  Those are the real heroes.

The lack of economic education in schools is a part of the problem, as well as the fact that left-wing elected officials vilify business owners. During riots in northern towns, when looters stole from a business, there was no compassion from the mayors. To paraphrase an old business saying that fits the Democrat view: Build a better mousetrap for the world and Democrats will still call you a racist.

More and more, Dems want the Federal government to control things, from elections to the supply of the much-needed monoclonal antibodies for COVID. They will not exercise their anti-trust powers, so their friends in Big Tech (Facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon, etc.) are allowed to have virtual monopolies. Ditto for cable and medicine, areas that are always increasing faster than overall inflation.

Nancy Pelosi would not let Trump have a “stimulus package” when he was president and it was needed at the height of the COVID pandemic. Instead, the Dems waited until they were in control. The left hailed the ill-timed government spending as “what FDR would have done.” When inflation is rising and there are plenty of jobs to be had in the economy, that is the worst time to increase government spending. If the federal government gets its economic solutions right this time, it will be a first.

It is rich to even try comparing FDR to Joe Biden (FJB). As far as I can assess, the only thing they have in common is an inability to walk up a flight of stairs.

You hear idiots on the left characterize the spending by government as a “heroic” move to save us. The truth is most thinking professors now realize that FDR prolonged the Great Depression by government intervention. It is like my orthopedic doc buddy, Dr. Benny “Boom” Beaty, said when I suffered an arm injury: “I can cut the tendon, put you in a cast and it will heal in four weeks. Or I can do nothing and it will heal in a month.” The same holds for most things in the economy.

Ronald Reagan said it best when he said, “The most troubling words you can hear are ‘I am from the government, and I am here to help.’”

When asked anything about the economic stumbles, Biden’s Raggedy Ann mouthpiece, Jen Psaki, blames businesses. Her lack of understanding of economics is appalling. I would imagine that, when queried about soaring inflation, Psaki would say it is not a problem since there is not much on the store shelves to buy anyway.

Ron Hart is a syndicated op-ed humorist, award-winning author, and TV/radio commentator; you can reach him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or Twitter @RonaldHart.