Harris will continue Biden’s ‘bidenomics’ nonsense – turns the case

Now that Kamala Harris has effectively wrapped up the Democratic nomination for President, journalists and pundits are examining her every word for clues about how she might govern. To some extent, the answer is obvious. Having served for four years under Joe Biden, the Vice-President would seek to extend his Administration’s policy accomplishments, which she described last week as “unmatched in modern history.” But, on the economy, what exactly is the Biden legacy?

In a report published last November, the Roosevelt Institute, a progressive think tank based in New York, pointed out that the defining goal of Bidenomics, its “North Star,” has been to rebalance the economy, moving power away from large corporations toward workers and consumers. This principle has guided many of the Biden Administration’s economic actions: using stimulus policy to promote strong job growth and low unemployment, which strengthens the bargaining power of workers; enforcing labor laws and making it harder for companies to thwart unionization drives; using antitrust statutes to contain the monopoly power of big corporations in industries ranging from high tech to supermarkets to airlines. “Empowering workers and curbing corporate power—that is the essence of the Biden legacy,” Felicia Wong, the president of Roosevelt Forward, the advocacy organization affiliated with the institute, and a co-author of the report, told me. “The big question going forward is: How long will that last?”

The answer depends on the result of the election, of course. Donald Trump has promised to roll back much of Bidenomics, including its subsidies for green energy and electric vehicles. If Harris wins, these policies, and many others, will remain in place. Bharat Ramamurti, who served as the deputy director of the National Economic Council from 2021 to 2023, told me that the over-all Biden-Harris economic agenda “is likely to persist, in part because it is reflective of the Vice-President’s input.” During Ramamurti’s time in the White House, he worked with Harris and her staff on a number of issues, including reducing medical-debt burdens, broadening broadband access, and making sure that small-business owners, including minority ones, gained access to covid-relief funds. Harris, he said, was interested in practicalities: “I think her focus tended to be on, How is this stuff going to work?”