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https://www.newsweek.com/bidenomics-wont-save-america-neither-will-reaganomics-opinion-1825670

'Bidenomics' Won't Save America—But Neither Will Reaganomics | Opinion
AUGUSTE MEYRAT , TEACHER
ON 9/12/23 AT 9:20 AM EDT

As much as it might sadden and enrage Americans who care about things
like the rule of law, personal integrity, and basic competence, it's
unlikely that revelations about Joe Biden's corruption or the
persecution of Donald Trump and his supporters are going to change
anyone's mind about who to vote for next year. While it's still
important to seek justice in these matters, it's also important to
recognize what truly matters most for voters: the economy.

Nothing else can explain the desperate push to keep an increasingly
senile, corrupt, and creepy Joe Biden in office. Other Democratic
contenders, like Gavin Newsom, Bernie Sanders, Gretchen Whitmer, and
Kamala Harris may be more cogent and slightly less creepy and corrupt
than Biden, but they all have abysmal economic records. Newsom and
Harris hail from the failed state of California, which is hemorrhaging
population and degenerating into a feudal state; Sanders is a committed
socialist who dreams of the U.S. becoming like Cuba; and Whitmer crashed
the already weak economy of Michigan with insane COVID restrictions.

By contrast, Biden's economic performance looks somewhat strong. He
hasn't (yet) ushered in a Great Depression. He has overseen the (slow
and painful) reopening of the country after COVID. He can boast about
high employment numbers (consisting mainly of low-wage jobs). And he can
take credit for investing in domestic (and Chinese) manufacturing (by
spending like there's no tomorrow).

Of course, compared to Trump before COVID, Biden looks quite weak. Gas
is much more expensive, inflation is devastating, and the housing
shortage is reaching crisis levels. In a typically bumbling defense of
abortion, Kamala Harris actually admitted that most Americans have no
savings and are living precariously: "most Americans are a $400
unexpected expense away from bankruptcy." Perhaps the wealthiest
Americans who donate to Democratic political campaigns are sufficiently
insulated, but everyone else is feeling the pinch.

In response, Biden is campaigning on "Bidenomics," a name his
administration gives to its supposedly pro-working class economic
policies. Judging from the latest polls, the message doesn't seem to be
resonating. But this is all Biden has, so he and his surrogates continue
to push it.

Any conservative candidate for office will have a great opportunity to
win hearts and minds by articulating an economic plan that really does
help all Americans. However, this task might be harder than it looks,
since conservatives are deeply conflicted on economic issues.

For many decades, conservative leaders embraced the free-market,
"laissez-faire" economic philosophy popularly known as "Reaganomics."
This philosophy prescribed low taxes, little regulation, and minimal
public assistance. However, leading conservative thinkers are starting
to argue that this system is unpopular, hurts workers, and has hollowed
out the American economy.

Joe Biden Bidenomics speech
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 15: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to
guests at Ingeteam Inc., an electrical equipment manufacturer, on August
15, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Biden used the opportunity to speak
about his "Bidenomics" economic plan on the one-year anniversary of the
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

In his new book Hell to Pay: How the Suppression of Wages Is Destroying
America, policy scholar Michael Lind explains how mass immigration,
outsourcing jobs, and union busting have stifled wage growth for the
past three decades and led to the government subsidizing cheap labor. In
Tyranny Inc., journalist Sohrab Ahmari shows how the financialization of
the economy effectively tyrannizes Americans. He recounts many instances
of hedge funds and private equity firms buying up companies, squeezing
out short-term profits at the cost of long-term growth, and leaving
workers and consumers poorer and more powerless.

Although free-market dogmatists will disagree with these conclusions,
extolling the virtues of their iPhones, make-work jobs, and cheap
Chinese trinkets, most Americans will agree that something needs to
change. As it stands, wealth creators are no longer creating wealth,
most employees are struggling to earn a living wage, and the government
is horribly in debt. No amount of tax-cutting and corporate welfare is
going to change that. The same goes for the Bidenonomics approach of
expanding the government, increasing entitlements, and inflating the
currency.

Whoever wants to win the next presidential election needs to propose an
alternative economic policy that ends the corporate tyranny and
suppression of wages. There are a few ways to achieve these goals.
First, the federal government must secure the border and limit
immigration and discourage the outsourcing of jobs. Second, monopolies
must be broken and anti-competitive practices must actually be stopped
through legislation and litigation. Third, federal and state governments
should protect workers' rights, allowing them to organize, seek legal
redress for exploitative practices, and change jobs freely. Fourth,
federal and state governments need to update and expand the existing
infrastructure and encourage energy independence to make it easier to do
business in America.

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These policies wouldn't necessarily preclude removing useless
regulations that hurt small businesses, offering tax incentives to
employers, or subsidizing strategic industries. The goal would be to
accomplish what Bidenomics only pretends to do: make the economy fairer
and help Americans who aren't millionaires. These policies would do so
while preserving a free market system capable of economic growth.

Unfortunately, the main people who would be hurt by this agenda are
those who currently hold the greatest sway in American politics—after
all, they're called "oligarchs" for a reason. They will use every tool
at their disposal to take down any candidate who threatens their
hegemony. This strategy has been apparent in the ongoing war against
Trump and the MAGA movement.

Americans are going to have to push back. What we have currently is not
sustainable and represents a real "road to serfdom" for most people.
Left alone, we can expect either an economic crash, a totalitarian
takeover, a violent revolution, or all of the above in the coming years.
The hour is late.

Auguste Meyrat is a high school English teacher in North Texas. He is
the founding editor of The Everyman, a senior contributor to The
Federalist, and a regular contributor to The American Mind, Crisis
Magazine, the American Conservative, and the Acton Institute.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.