Could a second Biden term be more injurious to the economy than his first term? It seems unimaginable given the first three years gave us 20% inflation, a $2,000 loss in average real incomes for the middle class, 6 million added illegal immigrants, a war on American energy that has caused gas prices to rise by more than 40% to $3.64 a gallon, the collapse of our many major cities, another $6 trillion added to the national debt, the unaffordability of new homes, and the chaos on college campuses.
So what’s the encore to that abysmal performance? What will Bidenomics 2.0 look like if it comes to that?
Remember, the Republicans have narrowly controlled the House since the midterm elections of 2022, which has put a modest break on President Joe 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 debt spending.
Liberals have been complaining that even though Biden passed $6 trillion of new spending — adjusted for inflation, somewhat less than we spent to fight and win World War II — there was almost $2 trillion on its wish list that got left on the cutting room floor 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 giveaway schemes and a decade ahead with another $10 trillion additional debt spending.
3. A “net zero” energy policy eliminating production of nearly all 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’s fully committed to net zero fossil fuels and getting nearly all 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 and 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 Khan, who wants to effectively eliminate all mergers and acquisitions even in industries such as social media, search engines, software, video streaming, cellphones, 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 trillions of dollars of global tech dominance in grave danger. Remember, these globally dominant companies in the “Magnificent Seven” stocks 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 Dems will agree to eliminate checks and balances in our system of government by overturning the filibuster rule of at least 60 votes in the Senate to pass legislation. Another concern is that Dems will lock in their electoral strength by making Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico states to add four more Democratic senators. Remember Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and 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 by these gale-force winds of another Bidenomics hurricane in 2025 without capsizing the ship of state? I wouldn’t bet on it.
Stephen Moore is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a senior economic advisor to Donald Trump. His latest book is: “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy.”
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