President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress at the United States Capitol, Tuesday, February 7, 2023, in Washington, in the presence of Vice Presidents Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, applauded.
Swimming Pool | Via Reuters
President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night, marking the halfway point of his term. It was an opportunity for him to highlight the achievements of his administration so far, as well as set the tone for how he hopes for the next two years, maybe more, the next year.
Biden was upbeat about his economic policies after recent reports showed record low unemployment and strong job growth, but his speech showed his bigger ambitions. is to reshape the economy into a “bottom-up and middle-out, not top-down” development economy. down.”
Here’s the economic news you missed:
Billionaire tax refund?
Biden continues to call for taxes tax billionaires and buy back company stock to reduce the federal deficit.
“The tax system isn’t fair, it’s not fair,” Biden said. “The idea that by 2020, the 55 largest corporations in America, out of the Fortune 500, have made $40 billion in profits and paid $0 in federal taxes? $0? People, it’s simply that. unfair.”
The idea was popularized by progressives like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders during the 2020 election campaign. Biden has vowed not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than $400,000 per year. year.
“Now because of the law that I signed, billion-dollar companies have to pay a minimum of 15%, God loves them,” Biden said to the Democrats’ taunts. “15%! That’s less than a nurse pays!”
Biden previously proposed a tax rate of 20% on billionaires last March as part of his federal budget. During his State of the Union address Tuesday, Biden urged Congress to “get the job done.” At the time, the proposal did not attract much attention and was unlikely to get anywhere in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
The battle over ‘junk fees’
Biden continue his crusade against unnecessary “junk fee” from banks, airlines, cable companies and other industries unexpected expenses for consumer bills.
“Look, garbage fees may not matter to the very rich, but they do to most other people in homes like the one I grew up in,” Biden said. “They add hundreds of dollars a month. They make it harder to pay your bills.”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed a new rule to Prohibition of credit card overdue fees last week. Congress banned excessive fees in 2009, but the Federal Reserve Board of Governors enacted actions to circumvent the law.
Biden in his speech called on Congress to pass the Garbage Charges Prevention Act, which would impose further restrictions on excessive fees charged to travel and event tickets.
“Airlines can’t treat your kids like baggage. Americans are tired of that. They’re tired of being played for idiots.”
Antitrust takes center stage
Beyond the junk fees, the Biden administration has steadfastly addressed antitrust concerns, a point the president emphasized in his State of the Union speech. Biden issued an executive order in October allowing the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids, making them much cheaper for the average consumer.
“Look, capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism, it’s blackmail,” Biden said Tuesday night.
The White House repeated this line in November when Ticketmaster’s parent company live country spoil the ticket issuance for Taylor Swift’s Era Tour, prompting an antitrust investigation. the company has grill later by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Antitrust Activities.
“Let’s get the job done, pass bipartisan legislation to strengthen antitrust enforcement to stop major online platforms from giving their own products an unfair advantage,” Biden said.
Labor and wages
The president outlined a number of worker-first initiatives as part of his broader effort to build an “economy.” [that] works for everyone, so we can all feel proud of what we do.”
He criticized companies that force workers to sign non-compete agreements, referring to an executive order signed last month encouraging the Federal Trade Commission to ban or restrict non-compete agreements. Biden said 30 million Americans have had to sign non-compete agreements from positions ranging from chief executive officer to fast food cashier.
Furthermore, Biden called on Congress to pass the Right to Organize Act to restore employees’ right to union without retaliation.
“I’ll definitely get a response from my friends on my left, but on my right,” Biden said, referring to Republicans. “I’m sick and tired of companies breaking the law by preventing workers from organizing. Let’s pass the PROFESSIONAL Act!”
Biden continued to urge workers to enjoy paid sick days, paid family leave and affordable childcare.
Expanding insulin price ceiling
Drug prices are once again a top concern for Biden. The president called for extending the $35 price cap on insulin passed in the Medicare Inflation Act to Americans in need of private insurance.
“One in ten Americans has diabetes, as do many in this room,” Biden said. “And every day millions of people need insulin to control their diabetes so they can literally survive.”
Biden has rebuked drug companies for raising the price of insulin from about $10 a vial to hundreds of dollars a month, “making record profits” on the drug. He welcomed the Congressional measure to limit costs for Medicare recipients, but stressed that it needed to be expanded.
“There are millions of other Americans who are not on Medicare, including 200,000 young adults with Type 1 diabetes who need this insulin to stay alive,” Biden said. “Let’s get the job done this time. Let’s limit the cost of insulin for everyone to $35.”
What does that mean?
Many of the ideas proposed by Biden, such as the billionaire tax and the PRO Act, will be difficult to sell in the Republican-controlled House and will likely be dead on arrival.
The White House and House Republicans have stood still on whether Congress will lift the debt ceiling, a measure that has been routinely taken for decades with no strings attached. House Republicans are threatening to allow the country to default on its debt if Biden doesn’t agree to spending cuts he believes should be handled separately. A month after the new Congress, the situation is to see how other negotiations will play out.
