Free Market Friday: Biden agenda – illegal and/or unpopular

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The Biden administration’s agenda falls into one of two categories – and sometimes both. The president’s priorities are either illegal or deeply unpopular, and are consistently out of touch with the needs of the average citizen.

On the legal front, the Biden administration is racking up a steady stream of losses.

On immigration, a court has ruled the Biden administration illegally suspended the “Remain in Mexico” policy put in place by the Trump administration.

Courts have similarly blocked the Biden administration’s effort to make COVID-19 vaccination a condition of employment for health care workers, general contractors, and most private-sector employees, although litigation continues.

The Biden administration’s blowout-spending bill, supposedly passed as COVID relief and grandiosely titled the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), included a provision barring state governments from cutting taxes if they receive any of those federal funds. A court has ruled that was “a federal invasion of State sovereignty.”

(Notably, Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor has taken on the Biden administration in many of these legal fights.)

Meanwhile, the parts of ARPA that were not illegal fueled inflation. In response, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said more Americans should purchase electric cars so they “never have to worry about gas prices again.” That’s right: He suggested you buy an electric vehicle (reported average Kelly Blue Book price of $55,676) rather than a new compact car ($25,240) or new sports car ($44,981) … to “save” money.

At the same time, the administration wants to pass a multi-trillion-dollar “Build Back Better” plan that will further increase inflation and the national debt. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is one of a handful of Democrats to criticize that bill and suggest he may oppose it. A recent state poll found 74% of West Virginia voters want Manchin to vote against the bill, so we know which politician has his finger on the pulse of the voters and which one doesn’t.

The Biden administration is consistently proving inept, indifferent to voter needs, and oblivious to the realities facing working families. According to legend, Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, responded to reports of people lacking bread by saying, “Let them eat cake.” Had she lived today, Antoinette might have not only avoided the guillotine, but become a top member of the Biden administration.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (www.ocpathink.org).