The one and only (and likely only) presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump has concluded, with little time devoted to the issue polls show voters care about most: cost of living.
Recent surveys show that even as inflation retreats from painful highs, the economy remains the top concern for voters, more than twice as high as the next closest issue. Fox News investigation. (Related article: David Blackmon: High energy costs are a feature, not a drawback, of the forced energy transition)
For nearly four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has pushed antitrust policies that have generally pushed up prices, and here are three examples that are worthy of further scrutiny.
First, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) FTC Chair Lina Khan Their mission to break up Amazon continues unabated. Like Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, the FTC's vendetta against online retailers knows no bounds. In 2017, Khan was a progressive star at the Yale Law Journal. Thesis title:Amazon's Antitrust ParadoxIn the article, Khan criticizes the company for keeping prices too low, a principle she upholds. Sometimes it is denied To pursue her political aims.
Last year, the FTC A lawsuit was filed Amazon faces stiff competition from a growing number of online new entrants and existing brick-and-mortar retailers.
Amazon has also become a lifeline for consumers, with surveys showing that nine in 10 people plan to take advantage of deep discounts on Amazon Prime Day to stock up on back-to-school essentials. Poll by JLL. Two thirds (66%) believe breaking up big tech companies would lead to higher prices for consumers.
Second, food prices are rising overall, By July 2024, it will be 26% higher than at the end of 2019. The Biden-Harris administration has not only criticized grocers, but also sabotaged efforts to streamline their operations. One of the Harris campaign's early substantive policy proposals was a vague outline of curbing “price gouging.” The plan was widely criticized, even by normally friendly voices. The Washington Post The editorial board called the idea “gimmicky.”
Meanwhile, Khan’s F.T.C. High-profile lawsuits He was trying to block the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons, a free-market attempt to promote competition and give his stores an edge against larger companies like Walmart. More than one-fifth Of the market.
The price of food is about 20% For the past four years, the Biden-Harris administration has been blocking efforts to challenge the status quo.
Finally, there's the never-ending focus on electric vehicles. Consumers are refusing. Harris even wanted to electrify school buses while she was vice president: “Raise your hand if you like yellow school buses.” She said excitedly in 2022. Her focus on the topic was, to use a word the Harris-Waltz campaign likes to use, “weird.”
But it goes further. The Clean School Bus Program (CSBP) has spent nearly $1 billion to buy 2,463 electric school buses for 389 school districts. Two years later, Washington Free BeaconOnly 60 buses have been built under the program so far. Vice President Harris It has become a voice Regarding this project's contribution to the government.
Meanwhile, consumer demand for electric vehicles continues to decline as mandates. Pew Research Center Only about three in 10 Americans would consider buying an electric vehicle in a June survey, down nine percentage points over the past year. Ford recently made headlines for scaling back on EV production. But if the current administration has its way, the school buses we know and love could be replaced by electric versions we don't want as early as 2030, the Harris Poll said. 2019 Campaign Climate planning.
This year's presidential election is taking place in a tough economic environment. Most Americans I believe the American Dream is impossible to achieve, and the Biden-Harris Administration's misguided antitrust policies are only going to make it worse.
Let’s hope that conservatives encourage dialogue on these topics between now and November.
Former U.S. Senator and Ambassador Scott Brown serves as chair of the Competitiveness Coalition..
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