Briefly Evaluating Biden’s First 100 Days

The short, short version is Gerald Ford doing a bad Jimmy Carter impersonation--with apologies to the very underrated Jimmy Carter.

I look forward to the point when the gesture politics will take a back seat to actual governing, and I hope they get religion on spending before reality forces a come to Jesus moment.

Let's do it by focusing on The Big Six.

• Drug Prohibition - Perhaps this summarizes where we are. I am shocked, SHOCKED!. We elected an OG drug prohibitionist and a bully cop, and we’re surprised that instead of legalization we got more of the same. (0/1)
• War - The administration seems to be content to continue Trump's policies on China, but the promised withdrawal from Afghanistan is potentially a significant improvement.  (0.5/2)
• Taxes - The plan so far is not too surprising, but it is still undesirable. The corporate tax increase is much much bigger once you account for the fact that Trumps reductions we’re paid for with reductions in loopholes. Going back to the prior rates without the loopholes is a big net increase on AN ENTITY THAT DOESN'T PAY TAXES! People pay taxes. When you tax corporations, the tax incidence falls on owners, employees, and customers. (0.5/3)
• Education - Biden specifically and the administration and Democratic Party generally cannot part ways from the teacher’s unions. Clearly the direction is for the government to vastly increase its role. They lost me at "12 years of [compulsory] schooling is not enough". (0.5/4)
• Immigration - Finally something we should be able to give a clear win on, but . . . it is hard to see these as anything more than better promises but very short actual results. Still, let's grade on a curve and hope for the best. (1.5/5)
• Housing Development - It appears there is hope that the Biden administration will lean toward YIMBY policies. As Republicans and many conservatives retrench deeply into antidevelopment rhetoric, the progressives may stumble into enlightenment simply by trying to be the opposite. (2.5/6)

Trade policy would be another important and interesting area given the place this issue held over the past administration. Sadly Biden hasn't changed in all these decades. He is still economically ignorant or simply a captured interest. And he looks like Trump 2.0 on China trade specifically.

Sigh***