Pirate's Cove

Without delving too deep into Political Theory 101, the main element of Socialism within the Democracy model is the Economic Core, in which government is heavily involved in running all aspects of the economy, up to and including owning the means of production. Of course, another aspect is the Moral Core, in which government pretty much leaves citizens alone in their personal lives, very much not like today’s Democrats, hence the use of the phrase “Modern Socialist”, which is really more Progressive, known as Nice Fascism. And CNN’s John Harwood is pretty excited

Democrats finally have a chance to remake the economy the way they’ve hoped for decades

For decades, Democrats and their economic advisers have agreed: broadly-shared growth requires more government investment. They’ve just lacked the power to invest.

That’s why President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” economic plan has so energized the White House, his party and outside allies. The new President and congressional Democratic majorities have a chance, finally, to make it happen.

The scale of his proposals reflects pent-up demand that years of thwarted ambition have produced. Actions to curb income inequality and boost middle-class wages were already at the center of Democratic debates before the last year brought them into even sharper relief.

“The pandemic just blew it all wide open,” observed Cecilia Rouse, who chairs Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers. “The opportunity cost of not doing anything has become extremely obvious.”

The $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan Biden outlined last week was just the start. It invests in transportation, manufacturing, schools, broadband, water systems, care-giving services and energy transformation to curb climate change.

So….it’s not really an infrastructure plan, it’s an economy changing plan? Huh. And all those “investments” mean government controls it and can tell businesses what to do. Are they going to give those broadband systems to private entities to run, or run it themselves? Will they charge market rates, or will they be below rate and/or free (meaning Other Taxpapers foot the bill)? As for care-giving, perhaps they should talk to NY Governor Andrew Cuomo about sending seniors off to die.

The comparably-priced American Family Plan coming later this month is at least as significant. Building “human capital” through investments that include universal early education represents a cornerstone of Democratic dreams of reducing poverty, increasing racial equity and fostering long-term prosperity.

With all that is going on, I hadn’t heard of that one. I’ll have to look it up, but, sure appears to be another big Progressive venture, involving the government in the early education of people’s children. Will they start mandating it? Not every parent puts their kid in pre-school.

When Biden came of age after World War II, the federal government invested much more in components of economic growth than it does now. Money for President Dwight Eisenhower’s federal highway program, President John F. Kennedy’s space program, and President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society swelled the part of the budget classified as investment — capital spending, research and development, and education and training — to more than 6% of the size of the entire economy.

Highways and space flight are a heck of a lot different than what Democrats are attempting to do now. They weren’t about government taking charge of the economy.

Democrats now dare to hope the pendulum has swung back in their direction. Before Biden defeated him, Donald Trump, too, emphasized the long-run economic struggles of what he called “the forgotten people.”

The disparate economic effects of the pandemic deepened and underscored the problem. Democrats say the robust fiscal response, including the $1,400 per person checks in Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan, has begun rebuilding long-lost trust in Washington.

“People are now seeing how government can be on their side,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. “That changes everything.”

And Democrats want to control the economy, despite so few of them actually doing work in the private sector. Few have run companies, many were simply lawyers (70% of House members were lawyers), most don’t know what goes into running a company. Many haven’t done any work in the private sector in years, if not decades. When’s the last time Joe Biden actually worked in the private sector? 1972, when he ran for the Senate and won. What did AOC do? Bartender and waitress. She wasn’t doing the books or payroll, wasn’t doing staffing. Interestingly, she is the kind a person the Founders wanted, a regular person who would get elected, serve a few terms, then go back to live under the laws she voted for. But, she has zero idea how anything works.

The return on Biden’s investments would take years to tally in any event. But he’ll enjoy one immediate political advantage if Congress delivers them.

Forecasters already predict the economy will surge over the next two years even without additional legislation. So voters will render their initial verdict on his agenda in the warm light of strong economic growth.

According to Democrat Talking Points, the economic surges that happened under Trump were the result of Obama’s polices. So, what’s happening now is a result of Trump’s policies. Regardless, Harwood just exposed that America doesn’t need any of these bills, any of this “help’. The economy is fighting its way back. What’s happening is a target of opportunity. Thanks, #NeverTrumpers on the Right, who thought electing Biden and Dems was great because they were unhinged over Trump, and you didn’t care about the cheating by Democrats.