Three weeks from today, America -- or most of it -- will go to the polls to choose the next president. Three weeks. Or to put it in Kamala Harris terms, 21, 21, 21, 21 ...
Feeling tired? Burned out? Ready to chuck the whole thing and start moving your retirement funds offshore? Well, fear not, because Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen play Tony Robbins for the weak and weary on the Right today. In today's edition, they game out the outcome of a Democrat sweep in the federal elections, and of a Kamala Harris unchecked in Washington DC.
And it's every bit as bad as you'd imagine, and maybe even worse. Although some of this will sound very familiar, as basically a rehash of what Joe Biden tried to do over the last four years:
Harris' administration would put climate change at the forefront, with major legislation focused on reducing emissions and advancing green energy initiatives. Expect aggressive regulatory action to combat climate change, build out clean energy infrastructure, and create green jobs.
Been there done that, and not just with Joe Biden. The Obama administration spent hundreds of billions of dollars to supposedly "build out clean energy infrastructure," most of which flopped. Some of it went into sinkholes like Solyndra, but for the most part, the technology just doesn't scale upward to a necessary degree.
Biden made the same promises and did manage to package some of that into his laughably titled "Inflation Reduction Act," but the outcomes were even worse. Congress gave Biden billions of dollars to build out an EV charger infrastructure, and a year later, the Biden administration had installed a grand total of one charging station.
But that pales in comparison to the spending on social services and health care:
Democrats would push to expand Medicare eligibility, possibly lowering age requirements and covering more services, including dental, vision care and home care for seniors.
Federal investments in social safety nets — including child care, paid family leave and affordable housing — would be expanded to address growing inequality. Expect the child tax credit to be a top priority.
Reproductive rights would likely be fortified, with the federal government defending access to abortion, contraception and gender-affirming care, especially in states that have passed restrictive laws.
Get ready for Medicare for All, in other words, and the crowd-out of private health insurance, if not an outright ban on it. But this raises the question of where all the money will come from to pursue these initiatives. VandeHai and Allen predict higher corporate taxes, which will create more inflationary pressures and will likely push jobs out of the US and capital flight as well.
The Dems' labor policies sound like a rerun too, with the same outcome as their social-spending agenda:
Expect an aggressive push on worker rights and corporate regulation. Democrats would likely focus on raising the federal minimum wage, increasing labor protections and expanding union rights across industries. ...
- Progressive tax policies could redistribute wealth, but spark backlash from businesses and wealthy individuals facing higher tax burdens.
Yet another page from the Obama-Biden playbook, but don't be fooled. If Democrats take the White House and both chambers of Congress, expect this to be more along the lines of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders than Obama and Biden. Progressives will unleash a holy war against employers on both the tax and regulatory fronts, especially energy producers. Not only will that cost jobs and capital, but that too will create inflationary pressure that will erode wages for those who still have jobs in Kamala's America.
Still not motivated? Still feel a bit diffident? I'll skip over the section about education and "social equity," although readers should check that out for themselves. Let's talk about the 40-year legacy of a Democrat sweep:
With control over both chambers of Congress, Harris could appoint a new generation of progressive judges, shifting the federal judiciary leftward. Her administration would prioritize diversifying the courts, with a focus on civil rights, gender equality and environmental protection.
Get the picture yet? This will be worse than the Obama years, and at least as incompetent as the Biden administration. A Democrat-controlled Senate will vaporize the filibuster to pass the most radically leftist agenda in American history and will transform the courts for generations toward a judiciary unmoored by the Constitution and instead tied to the narratives du jour.
This is no fantasy. Donald Trump may have some momentum at the moment in battleground states, but those races and the Senate contests are on a razor's edge. This is no time to daydream. Let's get back to work.
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