WASHINGTON—Supply chain issues, along with rising prices, continue to take a toll on working Americans. The Biden administration falsely insists these problems are transitory and a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but in reality, these economic hardships could be here to stay due to the administration’s pursuit of policies that have raised spending to historic levels and made it harder for businesses to operate. Peter St. Onge, a Heritage research fellow in economic policy, released the following statement on the way forward:   

 

“Americans are paying the price of the Biden administration’s big-government socialist policies. The left’s radical, reckless, and irresponsible fiscal agenda is threatening to bring down the American economy, putting more power into the hands of the very bureaucrats who continue to drive this crisis.  

 

“Americans are seeing rising prices everywhere—from the grocery store to the gas pump— and empty shelves are becoming commonplace due to supply chain problems intensified by Democrats’ and the Biden administration’s embrace of historic spending bills filled with radical activists’ policies. While families worry about presents under the Christmas tree this holiday season, and far too many are having to worry about stocking the pantry, supply chain issues threaten to continue into 2022 or even 2023.  

 

“The Biden administration has done nothing but lay blame on the private sector and push policies that exacerbate the issue. The administration is wrong on labor policy, handing out extra unemployment payments that made it harder for businesses to find workers for most of the year, and pushing rules that exclude most workers from infrastructure projects. They are wrong on regulatory policy, adding delays and extra costs to projects and reversing sensible reforms from the Trump administration. They are wrong on tax policy, scaring off investment by threatening onerous tax rates enforced by an army of new IRS agents, paid for by hard-hit taxpayers. 

 

“Congress and the Biden administration should get the federal government out of the way by cutting red tape, stepping away from massive tax-and-spending legislation that would further cripple our economy, and by saying ‘no’ to unions and activists more interested in their handouts from government than the health of our economy and well-being of their fellow citizens. The more the Biden administration intervenes in our economy, the worse this crisis will get.”