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7. New regulations detailing airline refunds;<\/p>\n
8. New decision restricting drilling in Alaska\u2019s National Petroleum Reserve;<\/p>\n
9. FTC blocking hospital group mergers;<\/p>\n
10. New power plant emissions rules;<\/p>\n
11. Putting on hold a ban on menthol cigarettes;<\/p>\n
12. A revamp of school lunch mandates, reducing sugar and salt.<\/p>\n
The Biden administration appears to be preparing for the worst, pushing through policies that could be overturned if passed later in the year. Congress has 60 days to nix rules promulgated by federal agencies with a simple majority; if there\u2019s a red wave, Biden diktats adopted in the traditional \u2018lame duck\u2019 session would likely disappear. The Trump administration employed that tool successfully, ditching several policies rolled out late in President Obama\u2019s second term; Biden returned the favor when he came to office.<\/p>\n
Some decisions, like forgiving student loans or not banning menthol cigarettes which are favored by Blacks, are obviously meant to attract targeted voters. Others seem to scratch a progressive itch, like the upending of long-standing employment laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Voters should wonder: Is all of this activism well-thought-out? The answer is almost surely no. After all, these are the folks that forced Detroit automakers to go all-in on EVs, sure that Americans were ready to abandon their gas-guzzling SUVs. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Consider the FTC, led by the reckless ideologue Lina Khan. Under Khan\u2019s guidance, the FTC has clamped down on corporate merger activity. Most recently, the agency sued to block luxury fashion firm Tapestry\u2019s\u00a0acquisition of Capri. Tapestry owns Coach, Stuart Weitzman\u00a0and\u00a0Kate Spade, while Capri owns\u00a0the Versace, Jimmy Choo\u00a0and\u00a0Michael Kors\u00a0labels. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Henry Liu, Director of the FTC\u2019s Bureau of Competition claims, \u2018This deal threatens to deprive consumers of the competition for affordable handbags\u2026\u2019 Forgive me, but only a man could utter such nonsense. Any woman will tell you that there are a gazillion handbag makers, and that they compete mainly on style and image, not price. And, frankly, that few of them are \u2018affordable.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is one of many examples of the FTC interfering with the normal pursuit of business. Fashion is fickle; companies continually add names and brands to survive. Liu has no idea what he is talking about.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But we cannot dismiss this FTC intervention as insignificant. The Biden White House, just like that of President Obama, is tragically lacking in business leaders, and in common sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lina Khan is a typical progressive Biden appointee, who is now compiling an impressive record of overreach and defeat. She failed to prevent Meta from acquiring the virtual reality company Within, failed to keep Microsoft from buying Activision and will probably fail in her effort to keep grocers Albertson and Kroger from combining. \u00a0She denies that mergers can create efficiencies and lower costs for consumers. As an undergraduate, she wrote a paper criticizing Amazon for being big; if Khan had been in charge, Americans would not be enjoying the obvious convenience of the world\u2019s largest online retailer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t just the FTC which, by the way, is also behind the outrageous and sure to be overturned ban on non-compete agreements. Consider the new Department of Transportation demands that airlines must \u2018immediately\u2019 refund money for delayed or canceled flights and reimburse passengers for equipment issues like non-working TVs. Talks about adding headaches to an industry constantly toggling between profits and losses! What the government should be doing is investing in critical air traffic control equipment and infrastructure; let consumers punish airlines that don\u2019t treat them fairly.\u00a0<\/p>\n