Five key economic points in Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address to Congress

President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night, marking the halfway point of his tenure. It was a possibility for him to spotlight his administration’s achievements thus far, in addition to set the tone for the way he hopes the subsequent two, possibly more, years go.

Biden has been upbeat on his economic policies after recent reports showed near record low unemployment and powerful job growth, but his speech exhibited his broader ambitions to reshape the economy into one which grows “from the underside up and the center out, not from the highest down.”

Here is the economic news you missed:

Return of the billionaire tax?

Biden renewed his call for levying a tax on billionaires and company stock buybacks to scale back the federal deficit.

“The tax system is just not fair; it is not fair,” Biden said. “The concept that in 2020, 55 of the most important corporations in America, of Fortune 500, made $40 billion in profits and paid $0 in federal taxes? $0? Folks, it’s simply not fair.”

The thought was popularized by progressives like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders within the 2020 campaign. Biden has vowed to not raise taxes on Americans earning under $400,000 annually.

“Now due to law I signed, billion dollar corporations should pay a minimum of 15%, God love them,” Biden said to jeers by Democrats. “15%! That is lower than a nurse pays!”

Biden previously proposed a 20% tax on billionaires in March of last 12 months as a part of his federal budget. In Tuesday’s State of the Union address, Biden called on Congress to “finish the job.” The proposal didn’t gain much traction then and is unlikely to go anywhere within the Republican-controlled House.

War on ‘junk fees’

Biden continued his crusade against unnecessary “junk fees” from banks, airlines, cable corporations and other industries which add surprise costs to consumer bills.

“Look, junk fees may not matter for the very wealthy but they matter to most other people in homes just like the one I grew up in,” Biden said. “They add as much as a whole lot of dollars a month. They make it harder so that you can pay your bills.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a recent rule to ban excessive bank card late fees last week. Congress banned excessive fees in 2009, however the Federal Reserve Board of Governors issued actions to avoid the law.

Biden in his speech called on Congress to pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act which might impose further restrictions on excessive fees tacked onto travel and event tickets.

“Airlines cannot treat your child like a bit of bags. Americans are bored with that. They’re bored with being played for suckers.”

Antitrust takes center stage

Along with junk fees, Biden’s administration has been dogged in addressing antitrust concerns, a degree the president stressed in his State of the Union address. Biden issued an executive order in October allowing hearing aids to be sold over-the-counter, making them less expensive for the typical consumer.

“Look, capitalism without competition is just not capitalism, it’s extortion,” Biden said Tuesday night.

The White House repeated the road in November when Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation botched the rollout of tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, prompting an antitrust probe. The corporate was later grilled by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee for antitrust practices.

“Let’s finish the job, pass the bipartisan laws to strengthen antitrust enforcement to stop big online platforms from giving their very own products an unfair advantage,” Biden said.

Labor and wages

The president outlined several worker-first initiatives as a part of his broader effort to construct an “economy [that] works for everybody, so we are able to all feel pride in what we do.”

He berated corporations that make staff sign noncompete agreements, referring to an executive order signed last month that encourages the Federal Trade Commission to ban or limit noncompete agreements. Biden said 30 million Americans have needed to sign noncompete agreements from positions starting from executives to fast-food cashiers.

Further, Biden called on Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act restores employees’ rights to unionize without retaliation.

“I’m sure to get a response from my friends on my left, but the fitting,” Biden said referring to Republicans. “I’m so sick and bored with corporations breaking the law by stopping staff from organizing. Pass the PRO Act!”

Biden went on to call for staff to have access to sick days, paid family leave and inexpensive childcare.

Expanding the insulin price cap

Drug prices were again top of mind for Biden. The president called for broadening the $35 price cap on insulin passed within the Inflation Reduction Act for Medicare to privately insured Americans in need.

“One in ten Americans had diabetes, many individuals on this chamber do, within the audience,” Biden said. “And every single day hundreds of thousands need insulin to manage their diabetes in order that they can literally stay alive.”

Biden chided drug corporations for mountain climbing the worth of insulin from roughly $10 a bottle to make, as much as a whole lot of dollars a month, “making record profits,” off of the drug. He cheered Congress’ measure to cap the price for Medicare recipients, but stressed it needed to be expanded.

“There are hundreds of thousands of other Americans who aren’t on Medicare, including 200,000 young individuals with Type 1 diabetes that need this insulin to remain alive,” Biden said. “Let’s finish the job this time. Let’s cap the price of insulin for everyone at $35.”

What does this mean?

Lots of the ideas proposed by Biden, just like the billionaire tax and PRO Act, are going to be tough sells within the Republican-controlled House and sure dead on arrival.

The White House and House Republicans are already at a stand-still on whether Congress will lift the debt ceiling, a routine measure done for a long time consistently without conditions. House Republicans are threatening to permit the country to default on its debt obligations if Biden doesn’t conform to spending cuts he believes must be handled individually. One month into the brand new Congress, the situation is a peek into how other negotiations will play out.