An alternative to ‘Bidenomics’: A pro-worker, pro-productivity agenda

This article originally appeared in the Washington Examiner on July 20, 2023.

The Biden administration seems to believe that by rebranding its economic agenda as “Bidenomics” and using buzzwords such as “equitable growth” and “empowering workers,” it can convince the public that they are prospering financially. But considering only one-third approve of the way the president has handled the economy, Bidenomics is going to be a tough sell.

The value of workers’ paychecks declined for 25 straight months, almost the entirety of the Biden administration. This is in part because workers’ productivity, the amount of goods and services workers produce per labor hour, has also declined at an unprecedented rate since the administration’s first day. People are working more to produce less, and if this trend is left unchecked, people will be able to buy less and less with every paycheck, too.

This is not a failure of workers — it is a failure of policy. Instead of feel-good phrases, America needs a real economic agenda that is focused on two things: raising workers’ salaries and lowering their cost of living. New research released recently by the America First Policy Institute outlines the causes of this decline in productivity and charts a pathway to reverse the trend. To implement a true worker-first approach, state and federal policymakers should start by adopting the following three tenets.

Read full op-ed in the Washington Examiner.