Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
Here’s a basic truth about politics: Voters don’t expect or want “structural change” or “transformation” from either the left or the right.
Voters want the economy to grow, and society to be stable, so they can work out their destinies in peace.
President Biden seemed to understand this—for about six months. Since July, however, he’s been unable to guarantee stability, whether we are talking about the pandemic, foreign policy, consumer prices, personal safety, or the border.
The result is falling approval numbers for Biden and rising expectations that Republicans will capture either one or both chambers of Congress next year.
But the GOP hasn’t really done anything to deserve a majority. Yes, Republicans have resisted the Democrats. But they haven’t put forward anything more than stinging criticisms.
They need to think harder, starting now, about what to offer voters.
There’s a way for conservatives to answer public concern over the pandemic, crime, and the economy. That way is the supply side.
Just as an earlier generation of conservatives addressed stagflation through increasing the supply of capital, the present generation ought to increase the supply of resources that individuals and families can bring to bear on the present crisis.
Operation Warp Speed, for example, was a triumph of supply-side thinking. Its vaccines are remarkably successful at preventing hospitalization and death.
Contrast the success of Operation Warp Speed with the bureaucratic obstacles that have blocked access to speedy testing and given public health authorities excuses not to lift masking and social-distancing rules.
The next step, then, is to boost supplies of at-home rapid tests. That means knocking down regulatory barriers.
Crime is another problem with a supply-side solution. The United States just experienced a record spike in the murder rate. Hiring more police, paying them better, and reducing nine-one-one response times is the closest thing to a sure bet in public policy. Republicans should be writing a crime bill that does exactly that.
The economy faces different challenges than it did in the late 1970s. But supply-side thinking remains a useful guide. The basic problem today is that prices are rising faster than wages.
What to do? Expand supply-chain capacity. Spend money to reduce blockages of goods in transit, hire more longshoremen and truck drivers at better wages, and deploy the national guard to unload cargo.
Defend and expand oil and gas exploration to put downward pressure on energy prices. And promote land-use and development.
At the same time, maintain work requirements that encourage entry into the labor market. Focus on vaccinations in industries such as meatpacking, where reduced manpower has contributed to the rise in hamburger prices.
Most people associate supply-side with tax reform. And yet, lowering barriers to investment and saving is just one way to increase the supply of resources and improve economic and social life.
In some cases, you might spend more now to boost long-term capacity. In other cases, you might spend less on benefits and regulations that discourage work, and thus limit the supply of labor.
The underlying idea is that more is better—more investment, saving, vaccines, tests, police, dockworkers, truck drivers, fuel, food, and educational options, for starters.
The next supply side agenda requires conservatives to abandon cultural despair and reflexive opposition to governance. It requires them to adopt a self-confident attitude and a willingness to address the entire electorate. Not just a slice of it.
Yes, I know. That might be too much to ask.
But it really shouldn’t be. The stakes are too high for conservatives not to live up to the demands of the moment—by taking another walk on the supply side.
-
Why the presidential election result wasn’t even close
President-elect Donald Trump is the first person in over 120 years to be elected to two non-consecutive presidential terms. He swept every swing state and made significant gains among Hispanic voters, narrowing Democratic margins in traditionally blue states like Virginia and New Jersey. He won the Electoral College decisively, although the national popular vote margin… -
Joe Biden’s failed foreign policy legacy
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris faced tough questioning on Fox News, where host Bret Baier pressed her on immigration, the economy and the Biden administration. When asked what she would do differently from President Biden, Harris responded, “Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe… -
Kamala Harris’ secret is her mystique
Vice President Kamala Harris’s rise in popularity has been strong and swift, reassuring many Democrats while provoking concern or confusion from Republicans. Her rise was solidified further after her debate against former President Donald Trump, which went poorly for the Republican nominee but resulted in more funding and endorsements for Harris — including from pop… -
Harris is further Left than Biden on Gaza, Supreme Court and more
The war in Gaza has divided the Democratic Party. President Biden’s position of unconditional support for Israel has proven broadly unpopular among those Democrats who believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself is part of the problem. Kamala Harris, perhaps with this in mind, chose not to attend Netanyahu’s address when he recently visited… -
JD Vance will take MAGA into 2028 and beyond
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has selected U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate and vice-presidential candidate. Vance was a relatively unexpected pick, and some observers have warned that the choice reveals Trump’s interest in picking a MAGA loyalist who will do anything Trump asks, criminal or not. Watch the above video…
Latest Opinions
-
Congress unveils stopgap bill to avert shutdown
-
GrubHub agrees to $25m settlement for ‘deceptive’ practices
-
Disney pulls transgender storyline from upcoming Pixar series
-
RFK Jr.’s lawyer: NYT report over polio vaccine petition ‘categorically false’
-
'Dirty Dancing,' 'among 25 films named to National Film Registry
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.