Biden’s latest dictate will hurt those who like independent contractor work
There’s a good reason that Democrats want President Joe Biden to keep harping on how Republicans and Donald Trump are a supposed threat to democracy: They know that his attempts to sell “Bidenomics” are a complete failure.
Just look at Biden’s continually sinking job approval rating, which one recent poll pegged at 33% – not a stellar number for someone who wants to get reelected.
Americans continue to feel the blow of yearslong high inflation and a post-COVID economy. And Biden’s policies have made that situation worse, despite his best attempts to convince you otherwise.
Take his latest idea.
Biden began the year with a new Department of Labor rule that will undermine the gig economy that independent contractors and freelancers rely on to support themselves and their families. More than 70 million Americans enjoy this kind of work, according to the American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute.
The Biden regulation raises the bar sharply for companies to be able to treat workers as independent contractors rather than employees.
The rule, which takes effect in March, is so sweeping that the full impact isn’t yet known. But what is a sure thing is that it will limit the freedom of workers who enjoy the flexibility of not being a full-time employee, as well as force employers to reduce their workforce.
Women especially benefit from this type of work as it allows them to better balance their professional and personal lives, says Patrice Onwuka, the director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women’s Forum.
The new regulation replaces a Trump-era rule that offered clarity as to who should be classified as an independent contractor. Biden’s rule turns that on its head and will make it much more difficult for companies to classify workers as freelancers.
“It’s anti-women, it’s anti-flexibility and it’s anti-worker freedom,” Onwuka says.
It’s all about Biden’s union buddies
Let’s be real. The reason that Biden is doing this is to give his Big Labor supporters a boon. He has not been able to shepherd through his major pro-union legislation – the PRO Act – so he’s tackling smaller pieces of it through executive action.
Biden promised to be the “most prounion president you’ve ever seen,” so he needs to reward all those campaign donations.
And Biden’s doing it regardless of
HAD TO FACE CONSEQUENCES.
FURTHERMORE, I HEREBY DECLARE THAT PRESIDENTS SHOULD NOT ONLY HAVE TOTAL IMMUNITY, THEY SHOULD ALSO BE ALLOWED TO BREAK WHATEVER SO-CALLED LAWS THEY WANT, BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THEIR TIME IN OFFICE.
SO, JUST TO MAKE SOMETHING UP, IF ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
PRESIDENTS OF ALL TIME – REALLY, NO ONE ELSE WAS EVEN CLOSE – HAPPENED TO LEAVE THE WHITE HOUSE WITH WHAT THE RADICAL LEFTISTS MIGHT CALL “CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS” AND “A WIDE ARRAY OF IRREPLACEABLE ITEMS FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES,” AND THEN SOME OF THOSE ITEMS WERE LATER FOUND AT ONE OF THAT PRESIDENT’S AMAZING AND HUGELY SUCCESSFUL PROPERTIES, EVERYTHING WOULD BE FINE. BECAUSE THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH A PRESIDENT DOING WHATEVER HE NEEDS TO DO, EVEN IF
IT INVOLVES GIVING HIS THIRD WIFE AN ORIGINAL COPY OF THE MAGNA CARTA BECAUSE HE FORGOT TO GET HER AN ANNIVERSARY PRESENT. HYPOTHETICALLY.
SOME LOSERS HAVE BEEN SAYING THAT FULL PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY WOULD TURN PRESIDENTS INTO KINGS. THAT’S A SICK LIE, AND I WILL HAVE WHOEVER SAID THAT EXECUTED ONCE I AM REELECTED KING OF AMERICA. OF COURSE I WILL ONLY BE A KING FOR ONE DAY. JUST ONE DAY. THEN THAT’S IT. I PROMISE.
REMEMBER, PATRIOTS, WITHOUT
PRESIDENTIAL FREEDOM TO DO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING I MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE ALREADY DONE, OUR COUNTRY WILL CEASE TO EXIST. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE AN EASY DECISION FOR OUR GREAT SUPREME COURT, WHICH A PRESIDENT IS TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY ALLOWED TO STACK WITH IDEOLOGICAL JUSTICES IN EXCHANGE FOR BARRELS FULL OF MONEY.
MAGA!
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, @RexHuppke, and Facebook, facebook.com/RexIsAJerk.