Stupid Ideas Will NOT “Build Back Better”
I expect every Democrat to advance socialism and, six months into his first term, Comrade Joe is all-in on bad socialist ideas – risking his re-election. Biden’s $2 trillion American Families Plan was recently panned by the Wall Street Journal as a repeat of LBJ’s Great Society programs that created a welfare underclass, raised middle-class taxes, and saddled businesses with upward-spiraling costs.
Stanford economists predict Biden’s expanded “safety net” will add 21 million welfare recipients, and the President has promised “new taxes on businesses and investors.” His economic advisors swear today’s inflation will just go away in 2022; so, if LBJ’s Great Society and Bush’s War On Terror proved anything, it’s that Biden’s $6 trillion spending spree invites bad consequences in the future.
From 1965 to 1985, the Great Society saddled tax payers with huge debts (up from $317 billion to $1.8 trillion) and debt payments (up from $9 billion to $130 billion), and staggering inflation (up from 1.6% to 13.5% in 1980). From 2000 to 2020, the War On Terror was a major factor in today’s $27.7 trillion national debt and $345 billion annual debt payments. Even if you support more welfare or greater national security, the debt obligation is staggering.
The political consequences of LBJ’s spending fell on Jimmy Carter, who was spent by 1980, when he abdicated the economy to Fed chair William Volcker and handed the White House to President Reagan. By 1985, Volcker’s high interest rates had reduced inflation to 3.6%, and Reagan’s lowered tax rates had ignited the economy and markets. By 1992, tax-and-spend Dems had lost three straight presidential bids, forcing the party to centrist Bill Clinton.
Historic low inflation (and interest rates) helped Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump help the self-reliant producers (farmers, makers and sellers) who drive the US economy and stock markets. Low inflation created predictable supply chains, necessary for long-range planning, and low interest rates supported new business creation. Comrade Joe threatens both, making him an existential economic threat (while China watches).
Today’s extra COVID-19 unemployment benefits are destabilizing the economy; creating over-paid unskilled jobs (won’t last), keeping hospitality businesses from full capacity, denying families affordable 2021 vacations, and jacking up the price of millennial first homes. Questioned about this, Biden goofily whispered to aching businesses, “Pay them more. This is an employee’s bargaining chip now.” Is it even possible to be more economically myopic?
The CBO predicts a national debt in 2030 that is twice annual GDP and higher interest rates (6.6%) that will hike debt payments to $665 billion. Does Biden even care? He would, if he knew most voters work for tax-paying businesses and invest in 401K plans. He would if he knew “minimal” support for good businesses are lower taxes and fewer regulations – but “minimal” support for bad businesses is collecting $435 from the Navy for a hammer sold at Lowes for $15.
The guess here is Comrade Joe creates a go-go economy (see the 60s), but debt ($6 trillion) and disruption (killing carbon-based energy) create recessions and trade imbalances. America has other paths to better infrastructure and non-combustion energy. Infrastructure lends itself to private/public investment, and electric-car development lends itself to tax credits. But no! Biden is a central-plan guy, who’s in over his head.
Don’t Ignore The Importance of Mainstream Culture
Conventional political thinking holds that a “good economy” guarantees the in-party’s re-election, but that’s a paradigm of the Industrial Age, which has been swept away by the Third Wave of info-tech economics. After Friday’s report of 850,000 new jobs, President Biden crowed, “Our economy’s on the move and we have COVID-19 on the run.” Really? Because the jobless rate creeped up to 5.9%, employment costs are rising, and the Wuhan Lab is still operating.
The fact of the matter, Comrade Joe, is 7.1 million fewer Americans are employed now than in February 2020, prices are still rising, and Operation Warp Speed had COVID-19 on the run before you took the oath of office. I think we all know this is Trump’s Recovery (and vaccine), so Biden’s big problem in 2022 will be cultural and societal issues, especially with suburban white women.
Biden should cancel his party’s left-wing horror show that’s stirred up a hornet’s nest, advocating open borders, woke public schools, and reduced policing. Biden’s overall polling is good now, but he’s on the wrong side of these issues. Some Republicans, like Peggy Noonan, wrongly think cultural issues will kill the GOP party, but these are anger issues that draw minorities, business owners, and suburban parents away from Biden and his party.
Start at the border: Harvard/Harris finds a big majority (80%) of voters say it’s a “crisis” and 68% say Biden’s executive orders are the cause. 67% say Biden should return illegal border-crossers back to Mexico until their court date, with 55% saying Biden “should have left the Trump [policies] in place.” Trouble is brewing in blue districts on the border, because 63% say (correctly) illegal border crossings have gone up since Biden took office.
A bigger issue is growing resistance to teaching critical race theory and the 1619 project in public schools, opposed by 74% of Americans (source: The Federalist). Fair or not, the backlash targets Democrats, the identity-politics party. Most families cling to US history as lessons in “time honored” values; like King’s bravery, Franklin’s genius, Columbus’s perseverance, and Washington’s leadership, meaning the sins of great ancients are secondary to the great qualities that drove their finest hours.
Further, by suggesting “advantage” and “privilege” are exclusive to white oppressors, Democrats alienate the suburbs and upwardly mobile. The goal of good parenting is an advantaged child (skilled) in a privileged situation (Duke). Race has nothing to do with white kids having an SAT tutor, black kids going to basketball skills camp, or Asian kids learning how to code after school. The point here is good parenting NEVER aspires to the lowest common denominator. Hint: leave the kids alone.
Richard Nixon, a flawed candidate if ever, used “law and order” to defeat LBJ’s VP (Humphrey) despite a good economy (3.4% unemployment and 2.3% GDP growth). Biden should be worried that only 38% of America approves of his handling of the current crime surge, and 55% believe “funding the police” is the solution (source: ABC News poll). Let me be clear: Democrats are promoting a Brave New World, when everyday Americans want national safety.
Harvard just released polling numbers that prove the importance of national safety. Americans give the US military the highest favorability rating (78%), followed by the police (69%) and CDC (58%). In contrast, Black Lives Matter (45%), Twitter (37%) and Antifa (20%) have sinking favorability. Many issues decide an election, so don’t sleep on domestic tranquility in 2022. There is a US mainstream that tends to its family, livelihood and property – and wants them kept safe and secure.
Peggy Noonan belittles GOP cultural and societal anger because the voices are not friendly (like Reagan) or dignified (like Bush I). Biden belittles these same voices because they supported his opponent. True, but are the voices wrong? Is “the recovery” a sure thing? Is there “no crisis” on the border? Are public schools on the right path? Is there surging crime – or just “hysteria” on the right? Whatever you think, don’t tell Comrade Joe. He just demanded a worry-free July 4th!
