As Republicans gear up for the 2024 elections, President Joe Biden‘s economic policies, also known as “Bidenomics,” will serve as a crucial part of the GOP efforts to defeat the president.
The administration has revved up efforts that push policies that encourage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) elements. Republicans continue to believe that former President Donald Trump‘s economic policies led to economic prosperity not seen in ages. Now that the Biden administration has endorsed policies like ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, the GOP is targeting the White House’s actions as the cause of many of our current economic troubles.
Democrats are only doubling down on economic efforts to intercede in the economy and picking losers and winners. Case in point, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s, D-Ill., “Credit Card Competition Act.”
Durbin’s legislation targets credit card companies, like Mastercard, in the name of leveling the playing field. The bill will have a major impact on the economy. The legislation would prohibit credit card companies from charging fees on the sales tax portion of a sale – something that the state mandates that merchants collect and remit. This bill would allow only credit card companies and banks to charge a swipe fee on the subtotal of the transaction. Durbin’s legislation singles out large credit card companies, like American Express and Discover, by punishing them while helping smaller companies.
This legislation is only one of many attempts that the Biden administration has made to impact the economy–and the stakes are high. From July 2021 to June 2022, credit card companies and banks collected more than $288 million from merchants just on the sales tax portion of credit card transactions. Republicans and defenders of free market solutions need to ensure this bill goes down to defeat.
Jim McCool is based in Tallahassee and is currently a senior at Florida State University, studying Political Science and Religion. He is a member of the Benjamin Franklin Society of Scholars.
Author
