Could a Biden second term be more injurious to the economy than his first term?
It seems unimaginable given that his first three years gave us 20% inflation, a $2,000 loss in average real incomes for the middle class, a significant increase in illegal immigrants, a war on American energy that has caused gas prices to rise by more than 40% to $3.64 a gallon, another $6 trillion added to the national debt, the unaffordability of new homes and the chaos on college campuses.
So what is the encore to that abysmal performance? What will Bidenomics 2.0 look like if it comes to that? (RELATED: BRYAN LEIB: Biden Has A Big Credibility Problem On His Hands)
Remember, the Republicans have narrowly controlled the House since the midterm elections of 2022, which has put a modest break on Biden’s more dangerous ambitions, but a Biden blue wave could mean Democrats run the table and have the House and the Senate under their control.
If Biden wins, he will argue that voters have given him a mandate — to move forward with radical redistribution policies.
Here’s a cheat sheet on the top five Bidenomics 2.0 policy priorities:
1 — Tax rates on investment up to 70%.
Biden didn’t get most of his tax increases through Congress. I calculate that the tax on a million-dollar investment that earns a million dollars would be as high as 70% wiping out two-thirds of the gain. Business investment would crash and trillions of dollars of capital would flow like a tidal wave to lower tax nations.
2 — $2 trillion in new deficit spending.
Liberals have been complaining that even though Biden passed $6 trillion in new spending — when adjusted for inflation — somewhat less than we spent to fight and win World War 2. There was almost $2 trillion on his wish list that got left on the cutting board table for green energy, welfare benefits, student loan bailouts and the like. Now they would have the votes to pass it.
This means more income-redistribution programs, more green-energy spending, more corporate welfare give-away schemes, and a decade ahead with another $10 trillion additional deficit spending.
3 — A “net zero” energy policy eliminating production of nearly all of our abundant fossil fuels.
America still gets between 70% and 80% of our energy from old-fashioned oil, gas, coal and diesel. Biden says he is fully committed to net zero fossil fuels and getting nearly all of our energy from the electric grid system. Not only is that a technological pipe dream, requiring a doubling of the electric-grid system that is already experiencing brown outs in states like California, but it would make our entire $13-trillion economy dependent on one source. The cost of heating your home would likely double or triple.
4 — An end to state right-to-work laws in 26 states.
Biden and the union bosses tried mightily to push the “PRO Act” over the goal line but they fell a few votes short. That bill would replace right to work laws in the mostly red states with a universal “closed shop” forced union policy. This would mean that businesses, shops, factories that have fled to red states like Florida and Texas would move operations overseas.
5 — The antitrust assault against Silicon Valley and corporate mergers ramps up.
We’ve seen the craziness of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Kahn, who wants to effectively eliminate all mergers and acquisitions even in industries like social media, search engines, software, video streaming, cell phones, credit cards, artificial intelligence and online retail transactions. This will raise prices for consumers, dramatically slow innovation and cripple the ability of startup businesses to raise capital, thus putting America’s multi-trillions of dollars in global tech dominance in grave danger. Remember, these globally dominant companies — the “Magnificent Seven”— have added almost half the gains in the stock market over the past nine months.
There is more to worry about under Bidenomics in a second term. One worry is that Democrats will agree to eliminate checks and balances in our system of government by overturning the filibuster rule that requires at least 60 votes in the Senate to pass legislation. Another concern is that Democrats will lock in their electoral strength by making Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico states — adding four more Democrats to the Senate.
Remember Sen. Krystin Sinema of Arizona and Sen. Joe Manchin of Pennsylvania heroically voted to save the filibuster — but they won’t be around in January 2025 to stop the court packing.
Could American businesses and families survive getting smashed in 2025 by these gale force winds of another Bidenomics hurricane without capsizing the ship this time? I wouldn’t bet on it.
Stephen Moore is an economist at FreedomWorks and a co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. His latest book is:“Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government is Devouring Our Economy.”
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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