Why Biden’s $6 Trillion Spending Spree Should Be Stopped

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR) New Deal created jobs during the Great Depression to help millions in the United States put food on their tables. In times of crisis, we often look to our leaders for help. Sadly, some capitalize on our crisis mindsets to push through legislation that would never have been accepted in times of prosperity. Former Chicago Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel sums this up: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” FDR pushed through a social security Ponzi scheme; George W. Bush pushed through the plan to invade Iraq following 9/11; and Joe Biden is pushing through $6 trillion in March 2021 legislation in the wake of the pandemic. It’s no wonder he insists we keep wearing our COVID-19 masks even after being fully vaccinated: they’re visible signs we’re still in crisis mode. $6 trillion is a staggering amount of money, given our already sky-high debt of $28 trillion,

Our government relies on tax receipts to fund its budget of $4 trillion each year. In 2019, our government received $1.718 trillion from personal income taxes, $1.24 trillion from the social security tax Ponzi scheme; and $230 billion in corporate taxes.[1]

“There are a lot of reasons not to like Joe Biden’s $6 trillion spending blowout: The favoritism for Democratic special interests such as teachers’ unions. The economy-suffocating tax increases. The hubris inherent in trying to redirect an entire economy toward green boondoggles. The inflationary debt his Covid-19 relief, infrastructure and families bills will require.”[2]

Hatfield Versus McCoy

For reasons partially attributable to the media, we have developed a hate-infused political divide between the liberal Democratic “left” and the conservative Republican “right.” The left favor legislation that supports governmental oversight in climate change initiatives, universal healthcare, women’s choice in abortions, socialism, big government, unions, LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, and queer) groups, and other historically marginalized groups. They have been labeled the party of chaos due to their recent call to “defund the police” amidst numerous riots in 2020 and 2021. They are the party focused on “hope and change,” according to Barack Obama. The right consider themselves to be the party of order. They favor legislation that supports the pro-life position in abortions, the military, smaller government, patriotism, free speech, religious rights, businesses, capitalism, and gun rights. Ronald Reagan’s slogan to “get the government off the people’s backs” was wildly popular in the 1980s, earning him 2 terms and landslide victories. Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” earned him a win in 2016, which imbued Republican patriotism.

Few in our youth know about the skeletons in Democrats’ closets because this information has been selectively edited in history books to claim the parties “changed sides.” Abraham Lincoln was a Republican who fought with his fellow Republicans against slavery, which the Democrats of his time vehemently supported. Republicans also voted for women’s rights to vote, while Democrats voted largely against it. 37 percent of Democrats voted against Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, or sex. 20 percent of Republicans voted against Title VII. Fortunately, we have benefited for decades from this important legislation. Democrats still focus on race and sex divisions today as evidenced in the Green New Deal, to which we now turn our attention.

The Green New Deal

Navigating life in these turbulent times requires reflection on the trends that have impacted humanity in the West over the past century and fitting the pieces together into a cohesive narrative. Fortunately for us, today’s social justice warrior / socialist narrative is cogently articulated in a 14-page document called the Green New Deal, which Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), and numerous other Democrats unveiled in 2019. This plan, which Senators rejected, would have cost around $93 trillion over 10 years (over $280,000 per person in the U.S.) and would have given the government more control over our economy than ever.  

What is in the Green New Deal?[3] As its title suggests, its primary focus is on reducing greenhouse gases by eliminating 100 percent of fossil fuels (gas, coal, oil) by 2030 and investing in clean, renewable energy sources. All U.S. buildings would be upgraded and our transportation systems would be overhauled.  The plan is “(1) to create millions of good, high-paid jobs in the United States; (2) to provide unprecedented levels of prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States; and (3) to counteract systemic injustices.”

The social justice component is “to promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing historic oppression of indigenous peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth (referred to in this resolution as ‘‘frontline and vulnerable communities).’’

In other words, the plan is inclusive to all but one community: the white male.     

The beauty of the plan is it gives us a glimpse into the minds of social justice warriors in our society. Under the guise of environmentalism and helping those in need, these socialists become our climate czars, overseeing expansive and expensive initiatives in our society from their many homes.[4] Rather than maintaining the current course where we rely on our trustworthy and historically impressive American innovators and entrepreneurs to develop solutions, Bernie Sanders and AOC have presented themselves as our saviors! Neither has a work history worthy of such lofty positions. Bernie Sanders was kicked out of a hippie commune for his refusal to work, while AOC worked as a bartender just prior to winning a representative seat in New York. She certainly knows change management, though, having established a sense of urgency with her dire warning: “The world is going to end in twelve years if we don’t address climate change.”[5]   

She and her co-authors also created a sense of urgency with a number of claims in the Green New Deal, such as that our life expectancy is declining and an 80 percent gender wage gap persists. These figures are misleading. While our life expectancy has slightly dipped in recent years due to the opioid epidemic, the World Bank has shown that our life expectancy has increased from just under 70 in 1960 to 79 today. While the uncontrolled median pay for women is lower than for men across all jobs (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data), numerous factors come into account. Once industry, experience, and job level are controlled, women are paid 2 cents less than men.[6] Women tend to choose less dangerous jobs that often involve taking care of others, while men are more likely to be in the STEM fields. For example, Payscale has found 89, 91, and 90 percent of software developer, project manager in construction, and computer systems administrators are held by men while 89, 86, and 90 percent of registered nurse, elementary school teacher, and human resources administrators are held by women.[7] These jobs pay less, so if women want to make more money, they should go into fields in which the market has set the pay at higher levels. Women work fewer hours on average and are more likely to take time off to raise children. They are also less likely to negotiate their salaries and to go up for a promotion if rejected in a prior attempt.  

We have good reasons to be pleased with where we are today. In 1850, 80 percent of the global population was impoverished. Thanks to capitalism, property rights, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the free markets, that number has decreased to 10 percent today. We have good reasons to be “rational optimists,” as Matt Ridley has said.

Joe Biden’s $6 trillion plan takes a slice from the Green New Deal. According to the New York Times, the plan includes $621 billion for transportation projects, such as bridges, roads, mass transit, ports, airports and electric vehicle development.  $400 billion is allocated to home and community-based care for people with disabilities and aging relatives. $300 billion is marked for small businesses and manufacturers’ clean energy investments and $100 billion is for workforce development.  $111 billion is allocated to drinking water infrastructure, electric power grids, and broadband access. $20 billion in tax credits will be awarded for the construction and renovation of 500,000 units of affordable housing. $100 billion will be going to building and upgrading public schools, while $40 billion will go to public housing.

Reuters shared other provisions, such as extending the child tax credit, subsidizing daycare, increasing taxes on the investment income of high earners, offering free community college, and giving subsidies to lower- and middle-class students attending historically black colleges and universities.

To pay for his projects, Biden wants to (1) raise the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent; (2) raise the tax on high earners from 37 to 39.6 percent; and (3) raise the tax on investment income on high earners from 20 percent to 39.6 percent. Multinationals on U.S. soil would also be required to pay significantly higher taxes.

Conclusion

The U.S. national debt has been steadily rising since 1929 when it was $17 billion (16 percent of GDP) to around $28 trillion (~$28,000 billion and 129 percent of GDP) today.[8] During FDR’s tenure, our national debt went from $23 billion (and 39 percent of our GDP) to $259 billion (114 percent of our GDP). Presidents who followed him decreased the debt to GDP ratios significantly and it wasn’t until 2014 when the ratio exceeded 100 percent, at 102 percent. The narrative that the debt only rises and the ratios steadily improve when the Democrats are in office are untrue: both parties are to blame. We have never had the sky-high 129 percent ratio that we have today. We will fail ourselves and our children if we think we can print money to free ourselves from our sins. They thought that in Venezuela and Zimbabwe but hyper-inflation and currency devaluations resulted. Venezuelans are now eating zoo animals and their pets to survive. With climate czars Biden and Harris at the wheel, we’re on a road to hell. The road to hell is paved with good intentions…

Rather than creating wish lists like drunken sailors who just won the lottery, it’s best we plan on austerity. Many of us still believe what Max Weber posited to be the secret of American success in his book, “The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.” The Protestant work ethic is about thrift and industriousness.  

We should also examine why some are not thriving as much as others. Since the implementation of generous welfare programs and housing project loans and subsidies (by FDR in 1935 and 1937, respectively), racial disparities in having babies out of wedlock and single parent homes have greatly widened. These trends lead to more poverty and a vicious cycle that repeats itself.

We need to encourage people to work hard, get an education, get married, have kids, buy homes, and realize the American dream. It’s possible for all to succeed in the Land of the Free and the Brave. United we stand. Divided we fall.     

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[1] Lawder, D. (2020). Explainer: The $4 trillion U.S. government relies on individual taxpayers. Reuters. September 28.

[2] Sternberg, J.C. (2021). Biden’s $6 trillion plan for permanent culture war: Perpetual public largess corrupts politics, focusing on who’s a good enough citizen to deserve the dole. Wall Street Journal. May 6.

[3] H. Res. 109. (2019) https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hres109/BILLS-116hres109ih.pdf

[4] Lifelong politician Bernie Sanders has three homes worth an estimated $2 million. Gould, M. (2020). Take a peek at ‘best-known millionaire socialist’ Bernie Sanders’ three homes – one in D.C. and two in Vermont – after Mike Bloomberg mocked rival for his $2 million portfolio. Daily Mail.   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8025835/Take-peak-best-known-millionaire-socialist-Bernie-Sanders-three-homes.html

[5] Cummings, K. (2019). ‘The world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.” USA Today. January 22.

[6] Anonymous. (2021). The state of the gender pay gap in 2021. Payscale.com https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20gender%20pay,earned%20by%20an%20equivalent%20man.

[7] Anonymous. (2021). Do men really make more money than women? Payscale.com. https://www.payscale.com/gender-lifetime-earnings-gap

[8] Amadeo, K. (2021). U.S. National debt by year compared to GDP and major events: Why the U.S. debt has risen dramatically since 1929. The Balance. https://www.thebalance.com/national-debt-by-year-compared-to-gdp-and-major-events-3306287