There’s a reason Democrats’ “Better Deal” for American workers landed with a thud last month and probably won’t amount to even a footnote in the 2018 midterm elections: In attempting to woo working-class voters the party lost in last year’s presidential election, the Dems recycled and repackaged the same ol’ government-centric boilerplate: better living through bigger government.
The trouble is, sucking money out of the economy and pumping it into government restrains the engine of economic progress, whether this is called a “stimulus,” an “investment” or a “Better Deal.”
To wit: The Democrats’ plan calls for investing in job creation and ensuring “a living wage” for all Americans. But experience shows that government spending does not, over the long term, encourage private businesses to expand or entrepreneurs to start up new enterprises, writes Alden Abbott, a legal scholar at The Heritage Foundation. And suggesting a compulsory minimum-wage hike more often than not hurts the very entry-level workers that such polices are intended to help.
The “Better Deal” also urges a reduction in “the crippling cost of prescription drugs.” But forcing price controls or further government regulation would only constrain U.S. pharmaceutical firms and, very likely, cripple their incentive for research and development.
Democrats don’t need a new advertising campaign to reach alienated voters. They need a new brand.
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