Americans want little more than their lives to return to normal, to get back to school and work so that their families can prosper. But with the virus tapering off, the Biden administration sees their window of opportunity to radically change our country beginning to close. Thanks to the pro-growth policies of the Trump administration, first quarter GDP rose a healthy 6.4 percent, economic output is at pre-pandemic levels, retail sales are up and consumers are flush with cash. Ignoring the economic recovery, the Biden administration has embraced a “Help is on the way” refrain, rather than embracing the momentum driven by reopening. Now data confirms the administration’s earliest policies are pressuring our economic recovery.
Start with April’s disastrous jobs report that missed expectations by an unprecedented 750,000 jobs. At the same time, help-wanted signs abound with a record-setting 8.1 million job openings, alongside rising average wages. Federal benefits now incentivize extended unemployment, with millions of small businesses unable to hire sufficiently to fully reopen. On average, weekly unemployment benefits are nearly $650, roughly equals about $15 per hour for a 40-hour work week. So it’s not surprising to see why small businesses are struggling to compete with the government for their employees. And while wage inflation is occurring, it won’t go toward quality-of-life improvements if inflationary policies continue. Workers will need those pay hikes amid rising prices for gasoline, food and housing, thanks to this tax-and-spend playbook.
The risks to a strong, rapid recovery don’t end with dislocations in the labor and commodity markets. When you add the full context of the administration’s ominous policies – from open borders to wasteful spending – you can sense the headwinds to our continued economic recovery and security.
One of President Biden’s first acts was to sign an executive order cancelling the Keystone Pipeline, destroying thousands of jobs and preventing the creation and preservation of many more. Keystone was set to build on our newly achieved energy independence from the Middle East -- at a time when Iranian-funded Hamas is conducting strikes on Israel. With the stroke of a pen, Biden signaled his eagerness to trade away our hard-earned energy independence for the Green New Deal, and to cancel thousands of jobs in the process. Not to mention the fact that these very policies put families needlessly at risk of facing the kinds of power outages and gasoline shortages we’ve already seen across Texas and the South.
As if that’s not enough damage for the first hundred days, Biden’s record-setting spending bills are adding to our national debt, putting more of America’s future in the hands of foreign debtors. While the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” held some needed relief, the vast majority was crammed with partisan boondoggles, including millions to expand Obamacare and billions to pay off teachers’ unions who kept kids out of school, and to states who kept their residents locked down. Just 10 percent of that bill was designated for coronavirus relief, despite the nearly $1 trillion that remained unspent in Congress’s 2020 relief bills.
But the sugar rush of policy proposals continues, keeping taxpayers on the hook and government at the center of our economy, crowding out small business and consumers. First, the Biden administration’s $2 trillion “infrastructure” plan, which allocates less than 5 percent for true infrastructure such as roads and bridges, adds a massive tax hike that would pressure wages and job creation, transfer billions of taxpayer dollars to corporate welfare, increase regulation and add billions to expand government programs. Second, their $2.5 trillion “families” plan would create more entitlement programs, saddle future generations with more debt, pressure the economy by forcing national paid family leave, free pre-K and free community college, unionization, and require even more tax hikes.
From massive, wasteful spending to disastrous energy policy, and job-crushing taxpayer funded subsidies, the Biden administration is attempting to reorient our economy toward Big Government before the pandemic ends. To put us on a stronger path toward recovery, the exact opposite approach is needed. We should scale back the enhanced unemployment benefits to incentivize work; shift our supply chains out of China and back to the United States; prioritize training for displaced workers; support our energy independence, return kids to school and provide more opportunities to empower working families.
Chaotic signals around April’s jobs report are flashing red amid a strong recovery that began in mid-2020. Without a course-reversal to stop the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars and to allow our consumer-driven economy to recover and reopen, our recovery will fail those who need it most.