Groundwork’s Lindsay Owens on Biden’s Economic Legacy: “The American economy is at its strongest when the workers who power it are the focus of policymaking.”
December 10, 2024
Groundwork’s Lindsay Owens on Biden’s Economic Legacy: "The American economy is at its strongest when the workers who power it are the focus of policymaking.”
President Biden is set to deliver remarks today at the Brookings Institution on his middle-out, bottom-up economic playbook as he prepares to hand the incoming administration the strongest economy in recent years. Ahead of the speech, Groundwork Collaborative Executive Director Lindsay Owens released the following statement:
“When corporations have too much power and workers have too little, our economy suffocates under the weight of the imbalance. The Biden administration has worked tirelessly to restore balance by curbing the worst excesses of corporate consolidation and making investments that have strengthened workers’ pay and job quality.
“As a result of this approach, he leaves the economy stronger than he found it and proves that the American economy is at its strongest when the workers who power it are the focus of policymaking.“
Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak with one of Groundwork’s experts about the Biden administration’s economic legacy and what to expect under the incoming Trump administration.
BACKGROUND
- President Biden’s slate of public investments has powered economic growth, with U.S. GDP growth outpacing the rest of the G7 countries.
- The labor market under the Biden Administration has been historic, sustaining an unemployment rate under 4% for more than two years and recovering all the jobs lost during the pandemic-induced recession, while adding more.
- President Biden took a whole-of-government approach to increase consumer transparency and bring down costs, including rulemaking to tackle corporate greed, such as:
- “Click To Cancel.” The Biden administration issued a rule requiring sellers to offer a “click to cancel” option for consumers to cancel unwanted products or services. The rule should require subscriptions to be canceled in the same number of clicks it took to sign up for them.
- “All-In” TV Pricing. The Biden administration issued a rule to eliminate hidden and junk fees in cable and satellite TV provider plans. Consumer advocates said up to 33 percent of a typical consumer’s TV bill can be attributed to fees not in the base price. The FCC said the Biden rule would help consumers compare TV providers and save money and would bolster competition between providers.
- FTC Junk Fees. The Biden administration proposed a rule to require businesses to disclose any mandatory fees upfront, eliminating “junk” fees. The FTC claimed its “junk” fees rule would save consumers 50 million hours per year in wasted time, the equivalent of tens of billions of dollars per year.
