Biden needs to ditch his woke advisers and make economic growth the priority

In any crisis situation, the first three rules are focus, focus and focus. President Biden’s domestic focus must be on inflation. At 8.5% nationally and 10.4% in Utah, inflation is truly hurting people. And it’s the people with little or no money to spare who are hardest hit by the exponential rise in prices. The last thing the economy needs is more near-term deficit spending, so President Biden should shelve Build Back Better permanently.

To remain internationally competitive and reduce dependency on foreign products like rare-earth metals, critical minerals and pharmaceuticals, the U.S. needs to pare down regulations throughout the economy. Excess regulations impede businesses from producing and delay workers from entering the labor force. We should focus on accelerating the domestic supply of critical industrial and agricultural inputs, including minerals for batteries and integrated circuits. The administration can open federal lands and put mining and processing facilities on a fast track for permitting. Today, it can take 10 years to get permits to open a mine.

Additionally, the U.S. must increase the domestic supply of oil and gas. Stop the blather about oil companies having more than sufficient leases for drilling—they can’t drill if they can’t get government permits. Building new pipelines to transport oil and gas throughout the country also remains critical.