Biden Pledges to Follow Hoover’s Economic Policy
All the investments in the American Jobs Plan will be guided by one principle: Buy American. (Applause.) Buy American. And I might note, parenthetically, that does not violate any trade agreement. It’s been the law since the ’30s: Buy American.
— President Biden, address to Congress, April 29, 2021

Governing While Distracted
On the same day a distracted driving bill was introduced, state Sen. Andrew Brenner, R‑Delaware, participated in a government video meeting while driving.

“I wasn’t distracted. I was paying attention to the driving and listening to it (the meeting,)” Brenner said. “I had two meetings that were back to back that were in separate locations. And I’ve actually been on other calls, numerous calls, while driving. Phone calls for the most part but on video calls, I’m not paying attention to the video. To me, it’s like a phone call.”
— Columbus Dispatch, May 3, 2021

This Is Not Buying Votes
California Gov. Gavin Newsom embarked on a cross-state road show Monday to trumpet the fruits of an astonishing $75.7 billion state surplus thanks to soaring capital gains during the pandemic. His first order of business: tell Californians he wants to give them cash and pay some of their utility bills and back rent.

The stimulus play demonstrates how an unexpected windfall offers the Democratic governor a powerful tool to ward off a recall threat. Checks would arrive in voters’ mailboxes not long before ballots do this fall.
— Politico, May 10, 2021

Some People Just Can’t Accept Losing an Election
The union trying to organize workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., sounded a pessimistic note Thursday as a partial tally showed votes against the union with an early and widening lead. With about half the 3,215 ballots counted, no votes hit 1,100 while yes votes totaled 463.…

“Our system is broken,” Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union President Stuart Appelbaum said in a statement Thursday night that seemed to anticipate defeat. “Amazon took full advantage of that, and we will be calling on the labor board to hold Amazon accountable for its illegal and egregious behavior during the campaign.”
— Washington Post, April 8, 2021

By Raising Corporate Taxes?
This report describes President Biden’s Made in America tax plan, the goal of which is to make American companies and workers more competitive.
— U.S. Treasury Department, “The Made in America Tax Plan,” April 2021

Taxes Will Make Us Friendlier to Our Neighbors?
Tech companies are likely to be hit with tax rises this year as a series of new proposals are muted by multilateral organizations.

The first is a “solidarity tax” proposed by the IMF, and designed to fix the income gap between rich and poor that has widened over the past year … a “temporary surcharge” on income tax as well as an increase to property and inheritance taxes to “promote fairness and protect the environment.”

A symbolic and temporary tax rise would “strengthen social cohesion,” the IMF believes, as it would make those that have profited during the pandemic help businesses that have lost out.
— Forbes, April 8, 2021

Economic Ignorance Is Universal
As Beijing tightens the noose around Hong Kong’s democracy movement, Taiwan has emerged as a key destination for those escaping the dragnet.…

After Tsai’s administration announced measures to welcome some Hong Kongers last May, an official from an opposition party shared a post on a popular college forum, declaring: “I don’t want to see a bunch of Hong Kongers on our streets, competing for Taiwan’s job opportunities and resources.”
— Washington Post, May 14, 2021

Almost as if the Case Was Something Other than Presidential Speeches

Today, prices for everything from gasoline to groceries are surging as the economy roars back from the pandemic recession. And that’s raising concerns in some quarters about whether the United States is headed back to the awful economic days of the 1970s, when the country was gripped by double-digit inflation …

Gerald Ford declared inflation “Public Enemy Number One.” Carter called it the nation’s most pressing domestic problem.

Despite the tough talk from the White House, prices kept climbing.
— NPR, May 29, 2021