It seems populism is all the rage these days in politics. Populism allowed a Manhattan real estate mogul and reality television host to be elected president. Democrats, knowing Hillary Clinton’s loss had little to do with Vladimir Putin and more to do with her campaign’s assumption she’d win states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, are now seeking to emulate more of what President Trump did on his way to a shocking win last November.
The problem for Democrats is their party leaders, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, have cobbled together a plan that looks eerily similar to other plans Democrats have proposed going back to the 1990s. The not cleverly named, “A Better Deal” includes:
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Increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour
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Lowering drug prices
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Job training
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Consumer protection
What’s that old saying about insanity? Oh, right. Its definition is “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Democrats only need a net gain of 24 seats to retake control of the House of Representatives in 2018. If Schumer and Pelosi think these old ideas are their meal ticket back to House control, they’d better think again.
Despite consistent evidence to the contrary, Democrats continue to believe a higher federal minimum wage is a magic elixir that will move the working poor into the middle class. It is a government attempt to manipulate the free market, and the market always comes out on top. It does so to the detriment of the very people it is designed to help.
The most recent example of where it failed is Seattle. Under a progressive increase, the minimum wage in the city is now $13 an hour. While it resulted in more pay per hour, employers adjusted hours and now minimum wage earners make less overall per month. Also, the increase led to fewer jobs available for low-wage workers.
On drug prices, the Democrats offered no solutions as to how they’ll accomplish it. It is an empty promise disguised as policy.
Job training is another go-to cure-all Democrats propose as a means of assisting displaced workers. The problem is, the programs are expensive and haven’t proven to be very effective, as most of the programs do nothing more than train people for jobs they already have. A GAO report in 2009 found nine agencies in the federal government oversaw 47 different job training programs with no measure of success.
The bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 passed specifically to streamline the overlapping programs. But three years later, there is no evidence of any success.
On the consumer protection front, Democrats are proposing the creation of yet another government office that would oversee potential mergers and consolidation. The “consumer competition advocate” would report any issues to regulators. Such a position would only accomplish the addition of yet another layer of bureaucracy to the government, along with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Protection Agency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
There are too many agencies and too many layers of red tape for people to see through. Why do Democrats think adding another layer will make things any better?
The Democrats have done nothing but repackage stale ideas, put a red bow on it, and given it a fancy name. That fact that Democratic leaders traveled beyond the Beltway to unveil “A Better Deal” in a small town exposes it as more a political plan than a grounded set of policy proposals based on a progressive Left ideology.
If they think this will get them across the finish line in 2018, they’re sorely mistaken.
Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the assistant managing editor at RedState, as well as a contributor to National Review and The Atlantic.
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