There’s a good reason that Democrats want President Joe Biden to keep harping on how Republicans and Donald Trump are a supposed threat to democracy: They know that his attempts to sell “Bidenomics” are a complete failure.
Just look at Biden’s continually sinking job approval rating, which one recent poll pegged at 33% – not a stellar number for someone who wants to get reelected.
Americans continue to feel the blow of yearslong high inflation and a post-COVID economy. And Biden’s policies have made that situation worse, despite his best attempts to convince you otherwise.
Take his latest idea.
Biden began the year with a new Department of Labor rule that will undermine the gig economy that independent contractors and freelancers rely on to support themselves and their families. More than 70 million Americans enjoy this kind of work, according to the American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute.
The Biden regulation raises the bar sharply for companies to be able to treat workers as independent contractors rather than employees.
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The rule, which takes effect in March, is so sweeping that the full impact isn’t yet known. But what is a sure thing is that it will limit the freedom of workers who enjoy the flexibility of not being a full-time employee, as well as force employers to reduce their workforce.
Women especially benefit from this type of work as it allows them to better balance their professional and personal lives, says Patrice Onwuka, the director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women’s Forum.
The new regulation replaces a Trump-era rule that offered clarity as to whom should be classified as an independent contractor. Biden’s rule turns that on its head and will make it much more difficult for companies to classify workers as freelancers.
“It’s anti-women, it’s anti-flexibility and it’s anti-worker freedom,” Onwuka says.
It’s all about Biden’s union buddies
Let’s be real. The reason that Biden is doing this is to give his Big Labor supporters a boon. He has not been able to shepherd through his major pro-union legislation – the PRO Act – so he’s tackling smaller pieces of it through executive action.
Biden promised to be the “most pro-union president you’ve ever seen,” so he needs to reward all those campaign donations.
And Biden’s doing it regardless of the impact on the economy.
Independent contractors cannot be unionized, so the more companies lean on these workers, the less ability unions have to organize.
It’s really that simple.
The Biden administration is trying to sell its new rule as a way to protect workers and make it easier for them to qualify for benefits such as overtime pay and paid time off.
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But Biden is ignoring the harm the rule will have on truckers, artists, Uber drivers and construction workers, to name a few. Many of these workers take these jobs because of the flexibility they offer. Becoming a full-time employee drastically changes that framework.
“In the Biden administration, it’s acceptable to sacrifice workers if it strengthens labor unions,” F. Vincent Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker, recently wrote in National Review.
Large companies that rely on contract workers like Uber and Lyft have criticized the rule, while claiming that they won’t be immediately affected by it – although that’s far from certain.
All bad ideas start in California
The effort to erase independent contractors started in California, where the worst big government ideas begin.
Biden’s new directive closely resembles a California law (AB 5), which took effect in 2020. Not surprising, Biden’s acting secretary of Labor, Julie Su, came from California, where she oversaw the state’s labor and workforce bureaucracy.
California’s law has caused all sorts of headaches, and has faced numerous revisions and even a successful ballot measure that guaranteed some gig workers like drivers for Uber and Lyft could be considered contractors.
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Rather than learn from what happened in California, Biden is forcing that state’s bad idea on the whole country.
“It threatens the flexibility of individuals to work when and how they want and could have significant negative impacts on our economy,” Marc Freedman, a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement.
The Biden rule already has attracted legal opposition. The first lawsuit was filed this week by a group of freelance editors and writers who fear a loss of work due to the rule.
And several Republican members of Congress are planning to use the Congressional Review Act in an attempt to block the regulation.
In the meantime, Biden’s latest overreach is sure to add frustration for workers and business owners alike.
And it will make Bidenomics an even harder sell.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques
