The economic policy of the Joe Biden administration, colloquially named Bidenomics, is characterized by relief measures and vaccination efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in infrastructure, and strengthening the safety net, funded by tax increases on higher-income individuals and corporations. Other goals include: increasing the

national minimum wage The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 creates a minimum wage across the United Kingdom.. E McGaughey, ''A Casebook on Labour Law'' (Hart 2019) ch 6(1) From 1 April 2022 this was £9.50 for people age 23 and over, £9.18 for 21- to 22-year-olds, £6. ...

and expanding worker training; narrowing

income inequality There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...

; expanding access to affordable healthcare; and forgiveness of student loan debt. The March 2021 enactment of the

American Rescue Plan The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, is a economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to ...

to provide relief from the

economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching economic consequences including the COVID-19 recession, the second largest global recession in recent history, decreased business in the services sector during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the 2020 stock ...

was the first major element of the policy. Biden's

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and originally in the House as the INVEST in America ActH.R. 3684, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress ...

was signed into law in November 2021 and contains about $550 billion in additional investment. His

Inflation Reduction Act The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a landmark United States federal law which aims to curb inflation by reducing the deficit, lowering prescription drug prices, and investing into domestic energy production while promoting clean ener ...

was enacted in August 2022. Biden's first year in office saw strong growth in real GDP, wages, employment, and stock market returns, coupled with an increase in inflation.

Overview

2021

President Biden inherited a challenging economic and budgetary situation from President

Trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...

, due significantly to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. As of December 2020, the jobs level was nearly 10 million (6%) below the early 2020 peak, and the

unemployment rate Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the referen ...

was an elevated 6.7%. There was a record budget deficit in fiscal year 2020 of $3.1 trillion, or 14.9% GDP. Biden's first major legislative response was the

American Rescue Plan Act The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, is a economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to sp ...

enacted in March 2021, a $1.9 trillion package that included $1,400 checks per adult, an expanded child tax credit for a year with $250-300 monthly checks per child expected to drastically reduce child poverty, extended unemployment benefits, and expanded eligibility for healthcare benefits, among others. The primary impact was in fiscal year (FY) 2021, with a smaller impact in FY2022. No Republicans in the House of Representatives or the Senate voted for the Rescue Act. Biden followed-up with the

, signed into law in November 2021. It authorized infrastructure investment of $1 trillion total over a decade for roads, bridges, airports, sea ports, rail, broadband, water, and public transit, among others. CBO estimated the deficit impact at $250 billion total, as they considered prior infrastructure investment trends as a baseline for comparison. The law passed the Senate in bi-partisan fashion, 69-30. Real GDP grew 5.7% during Biden's first year, the fastest rate since 1984. Amid record job creation, the unemployment rate fell at the fastest pace on record during Biden's first year, from 6.4% in January 2021 to 3.9% by December 2021. However, inflation significantly increased in 2021 relative to 2020 in the U.S. and Europe, attributed to factors such as strong consumer demand for goods (empowered by government relief programs), supply restrictions in port capacity and microchips, and lower 2020 prices. Inflation was partially offset by strong wage growth; by one measure, worker wages and benefits increased at the fastest rate in at least 20 years. The administration noted that high inflation was also present in the

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...

, Canada and the United Kingdom, though economists said the $5 trillion in government stimulus spending in the United States during 2020 and 2021 was disproportionately large compared to that of other countries and was a significant contributor to domestic inflation. Despite the pandemic and inflation challenges, '' Bloomberg News'' reported in November 2021 that the S&P 500 stock market return of 37.4% in Biden's first year (measured from election day) was the highest of any modern president. CBO forecast in July 2021 that the budget deficit in fiscal year 2022 (Biden's first budget year) would be $1.2 trillion, versus around $3 trillion in FY2020 and 2021.

2022

During July 2022, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that "Household finances are as strong as they've been in decades, thanks to money saved during the pandemic, debt paid off over the past decade and a strong job market." As of Q1 2022, households had also accumulated $5 trillion more in deposit, savings and money market accounts than pre-pandemic. However, some measures of consumer sentiment indicated near record low satisfaction with the economy, mainly due to inflation. The unemployment rate in July reached 3.46%, the lowest since April 1969, with robust job creation. Biden said in May 2022 that "Bringing down the deficit is one way to ease inflationary pressures in an economy." The budget deficit fell by $350 billion in FY 2021. It fell by $1.4 trillion in FY 2022, about 50%, or $1.8 trillion (66%) excluding student loan forgiveness of $425 billion, which CBO had scored as spending but later was blocked by court rulings. During July 2022, there was much media discussion regarding whether the U.S. had entered a recession, despite a strong labor market with low unemployment and robust job creation. After growing rapidly in 2021 and reaching a record level of $19.81 trillion in Q4 2021, real GDP declined moderately in Q1 and Q2 2021 to $19.68 trillion, about 2.5% above the pre-pandemic peak (Q4 2019) of $19.20 trillion. It then resumed growth in Q3, reaching a new record of $20.04 trillion. Some countries use two negative quarters as the definition of a recession. However, the

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic c ...

(NBER) is the organization that declares an economic peak and starting point of recessions in the U.S. They reference six key measures in their analyses. All six measures were up comparing October 2022 vs. December 2021, signs of growth rather than recession.

Key Legislation

American Rescue Plan Act

Biden's $1.9 trillion relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act, was signed into law in March 2021. Many observers identified it to be the largest social welfare initiative undertaken by the federal government in decades, and economists predict low income households will benefit the most from the plan. Analysts also predict that the adult

poverty rate Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

could be cut by a quarter, and the child poverty rate cut by half as a result of its passage. The key elements of the Rescue Act include: *$1,400 direct payments to individuals earning up to $75,000 a year; *Extending expanded unemployment benefits through the end of September 2021; *Increased the value and expanded eligibility for the

child tax credit A child tax credit (CTC) is a tax credit for parents with dependent children given by various countries. The credit is often linked to the number of dependent children a taxpayer has and sometimes the taxpayer's income level. For example, in t ...

; to $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child ages 6-17, up from $2,000. An estimated 39 million families with children will receive the additional benefits. Payments are scheduled monthly for July to December 2021, with the remaining six months of benefits due when the tax return is filed for 2021. The credit was changed from non-refundable to refundable, meaning those with low income who previously didn't have sufficient tax liability to receive the credit, will now receive the payment. This is a one-year program, that the administration hopes to make permanent. *$130 billion to primary and secondary schools; *$45 billion in rental, mortgage, and utility assistance; *Billions for small businesses; *$14 billion for a national vaccine program, including preparation of community vaccination centers; *$350 billion to help state, local, and tribal governments bridge budget shortfalls. The

Tax Policy Center The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, typically shortened to the Tax Policy Center (TPC), is a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington D.C. A joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, it aims to provide independent ...

reported that the law would cut taxes by an average of $3,000 per household and raise after-tax incomes by an average of 3.8% in 2021, with 70% of the benefit going to lower- and middle-income households. This is in sharp contrast to the

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs A ...

, in which half of the benefits went to the top 5% highest income households.

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

The

is a key pillar in Biden's American Jobs Plan. It passed the House and Senate and was signed into law on November 15, 2021. While referred to as the $1 trillion infrastructure plan, it includes $550 billion in additional spending beyond previous legislation and was scored by the CBO to add about $250 billion to the deficit over a decade. It includes investments for: Roads and bridges ($110B), power infrastructure ($73B), passenger and freight rail ($66B), broadband ($65B), clean drinking water ($55B), western water storage ($50B), public transit ($39B), Airports ($25B), water & soil purification ($21B), ports ($17B), electric vehicles ($15B) and transportation safety programs ($11B).

CHIPS and Science Act

The CHIPS and Science Act passed the House and Senate with bi-partisan support during July 2022 and was signed into law by Biden on August 9, 2022. Biden said: “America invented the semiconductor. It’s time to bring it home.” ''The New York Times'' reported that it is valued at $280 billion and is designed to help strengthen America's manufacturing and technology capabilities, including "$200 billion for scientific research, especially into artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, and a variety of other technologies." CNBC reported that it includes $52 billion for U.S. companies producing computer chips, plus additional tax credits to encourage chip manufacturing in the U.S. This was in response to a pandemic-related chip shortage, disrupting auto production and driving up car prices and inflation. Further, most chips are manufactured in Taiwan, which increases the risk of disruption should China intervene there. The White House issued a press release stating: "The CHIPS and Science Act is exactly what we need to be doing to grow our economy right now. By making more semiconductors in the United States, this bill will increase domestic manufacturing and lower costs for families. And, it will strengthen our national security by making us less dependent on foreign sources of semiconductors. This bill includes important guardrails to ensure that companies receiving tax payer dollars invest in America and that union workers are building new manufacturing plants across the country."

Inflation Reduction Act

The

passed the House and Senate using

reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedr ...

along party lines in August 2022. President Biden signed it into law on August 16. Vox reported that key objectives include: *Reduce carbon emissions significantly through climate protection incentives. This includes tax credits and rebates for renewable technologies (e.g., solar, wind and electric vehicles). It uses incentives rather than penalties primarily. *Improve health insurance coverage and affordability, by extending ACA subsidy enhancements scheduled to expire in 2022 by three years through 2025. These helped an estimate 7 million people get free health insurance. *Lower healthcare costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for key drugs and cap insulin costs for Medicare patients at $35 per month. This does not apply to private insurance. *Enhance tax enforcement, by investing $80B in the IRS over a decade on systems and personnel. CBO estimates an additional $200B in collections over a decade. *Increase corporate taxes, by implementing a 15% minimum tax applied to accounting income and a 1% tax on stock buybacks. The Act does not directly increase taxes on individuals. The CBO estimated the Act would reduce the budget deficit by about $100 billion over a decade, or $300 billion if enhanced IRS collections are included. CBO also reported that the Act would have little impact on inflation, as shifting money from corporations to healthcare subsidies would boost the economy approximately as much as the deficit decrease would slow it. The

estimated that the bottom 80% tax filers by income would receive a net benefit, if ACA premium tax credits (subsidies) are included. The 80th-99th percentile would incur a small cost (0-0.1% increase in average federal tax rate) while the top 1% would incur a 0.2% increase. The costs mainly are imposed indirectly as corporations facing higher taxes may reduce the wage increases or levels for workers; individual tax rates were not changed.

Statistical summary

Economic Results Summary - November 2021

First year: January 2021 to January 2022

January 2021 to Latest Period

Note 1: Budget deficit in fiscal year 2022 is $950 billion excluding $425 billion in student loan forgiveness which CBO scored as spending initially but has been blocked by courts as of December 2022. This makes the deficit reduction $1,826 billion or 66%.

Plans and legislative strategies

American Jobs Plan

In March 2021, Biden proposed a $2.65 trillion infrastructure package known as the American Jobs Plan with investments over 10 years, fully paid for by corporate tax increases over 15 years. A White House fact sheet described the plan: "This is the moment to reimagine and rebuild a new economy. The American Jobs Plan is an investment in America that will create millions of good jobs, rebuild our country's infrastructure, and position the United States to out-compete China." The fact sheet further described the U.S. as ranking 13th in the world in infrastructure, with a vulnerable electrical grid. It expands the concept of infrastructure from physical assets like roads and bridges, to human infrastructure investments like caregiving and training. The

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) is a non-profit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. that addresses federal budget and fiscal issues. It was founded in 1981 by former United States Representatives Robert G ...

(CRFB) summarized the investments as follows ($ in billions): *Climate $782 *Transportation $447 *Health & Childcare $443 *Housing & Buildings $258 *Jobs & economic development $196 *Research & Development $159 *Manufacturing $154 *Clean water $111 *Broadband $100 CRFB also summarized the revenue elements over 15 years: *Increase corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, generating $1,300 billion in revenue. The rate had been lowered from 35% in 2017 to 21% in 2018 by the

. *Implement a global minimum tax, raising $750 billion. *Several other elements to address corporate tax loopholes and shelters, raising $680 billion.

American Families Plan

In April 2021, Biden proposed "The American Families Plan", which a White House fact sheet described as: " investment in our children and our families—helping families cover the basic expenses that so many struggle with now, lowering health insurance premiums, and continuing the American Rescue Plan's historic reductions in child poverty." The plan elements include: *Adding at least four years of free education, including two years of pre-school for 3-4 year-olds, and two years of community college. The Biden Administration estimates the pre-school program will benefit 5 million children each year and save the average family $13,000. The community college program will help about 5.5 million students per year pay $0 in fees, about $109 billion over a decade. *Providing child care subsidies to limit spending of low- and middle-income families to 7% of income. *Creating national paid family and medical leave program, comparable to other developed nations. *Expanding food assistance, including in schools to reduce child hunger. *Extending tax cuts in the American Rescue plan indefinitely, including the

Child Tax Credit A child tax credit (CTC) is a tax credit for parents with dependent children given by various countries. The credit is often linked to the number of dependent children a taxpayer has and sometimes the taxpayer's income level. For example, in t ...

Earned Income Tax Credit The United States federal earned income tax credit or earned income credit (EITC or EIC) is a refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples, particularly those with children. The amount of EITC benefit depends ...

, and the Dependent Care Tax Credit. *Expanding healthcare subsidies in the American Rescue plan indefinitely, including $50/month subsidies (on average) received by nine million people. The ''New York Times'' estimated the American Families Plan would invest about $1.8 trillion over 10 years, with about $800 billion in tax credits, $545 billion in child and family support, $511 billion for education, and $80 billion to expand the ability of the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

to collect taxes from the wealthy.

Build Back Better Act

The Build Back Better Act, a

package including about $2.2 trillion in spending/investments and $2.0 trillion in additional revenue over a decade, passed the House of Representatives November 19, 2021 and is pending before the Senate. Most of the bill's provisions have finite duration. ''The New York Times'' reported that enacting the bill would fund benefits such as: *Child care program for children up to five years of age, capping family expenses at 7% of income ($273 billion). *Paid family and medical leave of four weeks ($205 billion). *Child tax credit extension through 2023 ($185 billion). *Universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds ($109 billion). *Healthcare programs, such as funds for home health care under Medicaid ($150 billion), and expansion to ACA eligibility and subsidies ($74 billion). *Climate programs with various tax incentives, pollution controls, and financial assistance ($495 billion). *Housing programs such as public housing, rental assistance, and affordable housing ($166 billion). The revenue or cost reduction sources include: *Corporate tax increases of $814 billion, including new methods such as an alternative minimum tax on accounting profits and taxing stock buybacks. *Individual tax increases of $655 billion, focused on high-income households, including surtaxes for incomes over $10 million or $25 million. *Allowing government to negotiate prices for Medicare prescriptions (cost reduction of $76 billion). *Limiting prescription drug price increases (cost reduction of $84 billion). The CBO estimated the bill would add $350 billion total to the national debt over the 2022-2031 period, excluding about $200 billion in estimated collections from stronger IRS enforcement (bringing the net impact closer to $150 billion), overall a relatively minor net impact on the national debt.

Biden's first budget FY 2022

President Biden published his first budget for fiscal year 2022, covering the FY2022-2031 decade. The

(CRFB) summarized it as follows: "The President's budget proposes about $5 trillion of new spending and tax breaks, reflecting the previously proposed American Jobs Plan, American Families Plan, and nondefense discretionary spending increases. These provisions would be partially offset with nearly $3.6 trillion of new revenue and over $200 billion of budget cuts and savings. The budget would also add $163 billion of interest costs.” CRFB estimated this as a net $1.354 trillion increase in the budget deficit over a decade, or $135 billion/year. This budget is incremental to the $2.0 trillion impact of the American Rescue Plan, which was enacted in March 2021 and already included in the baseline forecast used for the CRFB computations. For scale, Trump's

represented about $2 trillion in deficit additions over a decade, or $200 billion/year. CRFB also commented on the economic assumptions in the budget as being comparable to other major forecasts: "The budget's growth assumptions of 2.2 percent per year over the decade and 1.9 percent per year in the second half of the decade are somewhat higher than CBO's projections of 2.0 and 1.6 percent and the Federal Reserve's 2.0 and 1.8 percent estimates. However, they are in line with the Blue Chip consensus, which is also 2.2 percent per year over the next decade and 1.9 percent per year in the longer term." CRFB commented that Biden's budget is somewhat more optimistic on unemployment rates than these other forecasters.

COVID-19

January 2021

On January 22, President Biden issued an executive order intended to deliver economic relief to families and businesses. This included: *Increasing access to food for students missing meals due to school closures and enhancing SNAP (food stamps) benefits; *Improving delivery of direct stimulus payments; *Request Department of Labor to clarify that workers can still access unemployment insurance if employment would have jeopardized their health due to COVID-19; *Develop support network to help families and businesses access government benefits; and *Require federal contractors to pay $15 minimum wage.

Minimum wage

Biden's COVID-19 stimulus package, the

, originally included raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, but this was later removed after moderate Senate Democrats and Republicans objected to the proposal. A CBO study in 2019 estimated that raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would increase wages for 17 million directly in that year, although the number of persons with jobs could be reduced in a range of zero to 3.7 million. Three months into office, Biden signed an executive order to increase the minimum wage for federal contractors by nearly 37%, to $15 per hour. The order went into effect for 390,000 workers in January 2022.

Trade

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' reported that instead of negotiating access to Chinese markets for large American financial-service firms and pharmaceutical companies, the Biden administration may focus on trade policies that boost exports or domestic jobs. U.S. Trade Representative

Katherine Tai Katherine Chi Tai (born March 18, 1974) is an American attorney serving as the 19th United States Trade Representative since March 18, 2021. The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she is the first Asian-American to serve in the position. A member ...

said the administration wants a "worker-centered trade policy".

U.S. Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary r ...

Gina Raimondo Gina Marie Raimondo (; born May 17, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and venture capitalist who has served as the 40th United States Secretary of Commerce since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 75th ...

said she planned to aggressively enforce trade rules to combat unfair practices by China. In March 2021, Katherine Tai said that the U.S. would not lift tariffs on Chinese imports in the near future, despite lobbying efforts from "free traders" including former Secretary of Treasury

Hank Paulson Henry Merritt Paulson Jr. (born March 28, 1946) is an American banker and financier who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2006 to 2009. Prior to his role in the Department of the Treasury, Paulson was the Chairman a ...

and the

Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major United States companies. Unlike the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, BR ...

, a big-business group, that pressed for tariff repeal. At the October 2021 G20 Rome summit, the Biden administration and the European Union reached agreement to roll back the steel and aluminum tariff regime that had been imposed by the Trump administration in 2018. The agreement retained some protection for American steel and aluminum producers by adopting a

tariff-rate quota In economics, a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) (also called a tariff quota) is a two-tiered tariff system that combines import quotas and tariffs to regulate import products. A TRQ allows a lower tariff rate on imports of a given product within a spec ...

regime. It also ended retaliatory tariffs on American goods the EU had imposed and canceled a scheduled tariff increase by the EU. China failed by a wide margin to purchase American goods and services as agreed under the January 2020 Phase One trade deal, which expired on December 31, 2021. The Biden administration continued to formulate its China trade policy and faced a decision as to whether to reinstate some tariffs and risk retaliation, or to ignore China's breach amid elevated inflation that might be exacerbated by additional tariffs.

Education

Biden has proposed paying for college tuition and pre-K for middle-class families. He also wants to forgive some or all of student loans.

Student loan forgiveness

Biden supported canceling student loan debt up to $10,000 during 2020, for some borrowers. Other prominent Democrats (Senators Warren and Schumer) co-authored a resolution including cancelations up to $50,000 for all borrowers. There is an active debate about whether legislation or executive order is sufficient to cancel student loans. Critics argued that canceling student loans is regressive rather than progressive, as most with student loans are college educated and earn more. Further, the impact on college tuition pricing and access is unclear. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that student loans totaled $1.5 trillion in 2019, with 43 million borrowers. The average balance was $33,500. About 14 million borrowers (33%) had balances below $10,000; 20 million (47%) had balances $10,000-$50,000, and 9 million (20%) had balances over $50,000. The

reported in November 2020 that canceling student loans had several pros and cons, but was a relatively ineffective economic stimulus. While household net worth would rise by $1.5 trillion if all loans were canceled, in terms of monthly spending the typical household with student loan debt would be avoiding a $200–300 monthly payment. Re-directing this savings to other spending would have limited economic impact of about $100 billion/year. One important consideration is the tax treatment of the forgiven debt; if treated as a gain (income), it would likely be taxable in the absence of legislation negating the gain, offsetting the small positive economic impact. CNBC reported that forgiving $10,000 in student debt for all borrowers would cost the government $377 billion, but forgiving $10,000 just for those with debt below $10,000 (about a third of borrowers) would cost $75 billion. Debtors in the latter category tend to be those struggling to pay off their debt. By the end of Biden's first year in office, the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

had forgiven $15 billion in debt for 675,000 borrowers.

Healthcare

Biden has proposed lowering the Medicare age from 65 to 60, and expanding the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

subsidies and eligibility. Some 23 million persons age 60-64 who could directly benefit, either by paying lower insurance premiums or no longer needing to obtain their insurance through an employer. There are about 1.7 million in the 60-64 age range who are uninsured, and 3.2 million who buy coverage because they are not covered by an employer. Hospitals would receive lower reimbursement rates for age 60-64 patients that enroll in Medicare. This plan would also increase the budget deficit, although the CBO has not officially scored the proposal as of January 2021. Lowering the Medicare age is popular, with one poll indicating 85% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans support lowering the eligibility age to as young as 50.

Cryptocurrency

In January 2021, Biden suspended any federal regulatory proposal related to cryptocurrency until they can be reviewed by the new administration. This change was part of a freeze for all last-minute regulations put in place by the Trump administration. On November 23,

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell Brown (; born November 9, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Ohio, a seat which he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Ohio's 1 ...

( D– OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to

Tether A tether is a cord, fixture, or flexible attachment that characteristically anchors something movable to something fixed; it also maybe used to connect two movable objects, such as an item being towed by its tow. Applications for tethers includ ...

issuer

Bitfinex Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange owned and operated by iFinex Inc registered in the British Virgin Islands. Their customers' money has been stolen or lost in several incidents, and they have been unable to secure normal banking relationshi ...

requesting information about company operations due to concerns that the company was engaged in

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensa ...

. On March 9, 2022, Biden issued Executive Order 14067 to federal departments and agencies to assess the benefits and risks of cryptocurrencies, and directed the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after ...

to continue its research, development, and assessment efforts for a

central bank digital currency A central bank digital currency (CBDC) (also called digital fiat currency or digital base money) is a digital currency issued by a central bank, rather than by a commercial bank. A report by the Bank for International Settlements states that, ...

(CBDC) for the

U.S. dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

. On June 6, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics issued a directive barring federal employees from working on any regulation that could influence the value of digital currencies that they hold. When Voyager Digital filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

on July 6, the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures credi ...

(FDIC) began investigating marketing claims made by Voyager that its customer dollar

deposit account A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below ...

s were

insured Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

by the agency.

CFTC

On January 3, 2022, the

Commodity Futures Trading Commission The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options. The Commodity Exchange Ac ...

(CFTC) issued an order requiring Blockratize, Inc. pay a $1.4 million fine for failing to

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), the ...

as a

swap execution facility A Swap Execution Facility (SEF) (sometimes Swaps Execution Facility) is a platform for financial swap trading that provides pre-trade information (i.e. bid and offer prices) and a mechanism for executing swap transactions among eligible participant ...

, for offering illegal

binary Binary may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two digits (0 and 1) * Binary function, a function that takes two arguments * Binary operation, a mathematical operation that ta ...

option contracts using cryptocurrency on its

prediction market Prediction markets (also known as betting markets, information markets, decision markets, idea futures or event derivatives) are open markets where specific outcomes can be predicted using financial incentives. Essentially, they are exchange-trad ...

website Polymarket, and to close betting markets in violation of the

Commodity Exchange Act Commodity Exchange Act (ch. 545, , enacted June 15, 1936) is a federal act enacted in 1936 by the U.S. Government, with some of its provisions amending the Grain Futures Act of 1922. The Act provides federal regulation of all commodities and futu ...

. On February 9, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam asked the 117th U.S. Congress for the authority to regulate certain cryptocurrencies in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. On June 2, the CFTC filed a lawsuit against

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Norther ...

alleging that the executive staff of the cryptocurrency exchange made false and misleading statements and omissions in communications with regulators about

market manipulation In economics and finance, market manipulation is a type of market abuse where there is a deliberate attempt to interfere with the free and fair operation of the market; the most blatant of cases involve creating false or misleading appearanc ...

of a bitcoin

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

the company proposed offering in 2017. On June 7, U.S. Senators

Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of R ...

(D– NY) and

Cynthia Lummis Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn ( ; born September 10, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Wyoming since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Lummis served as the U.S representative ...

( R– WY) introduced a bill to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies that would treat most digital assets as commodities subject to oversight from the CFTC and would not have cryptocurrencies subject to oversight from the SEC unless a cryptocurrency's holders were entitled to the same privileges as corporate investors. On June 8, Behnam announced support for the bill. At a conference hosted by ''The Wall Street Journal'' on June 14,

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

(SEC) Chairman

Gary Gensler Gary Gensler (born October 18, 1957) is an American government official and former investment banker serving as the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Gensler previously led the Biden–Harris transition's Federal Reserve, Ba ...

expressed concern that the Lummis-Gillibrand bill could inadvertently undermine stock market and mutual fund protections, noted that cryptocurrency companies were already engaging in behaviors overseen by the SEC, and argued that some digital assets are securities necessitating oversight from the SEC rather than commodities (even if the overwhelming majority of tokens offered by cryptocurrency exchanges are commodities).

Federal Reserve

At a conference held by the

Bank for International Settlements The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks". The BIS carries out its work thr ...

on March 22, 2021,

Federal Reserve Chairman The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the Boa ...

Jerome Powell Jerome Hayden "Jay" Powell (born February 4, 1953) is an American attorney and investment banker who has served as the 16th chair of the Federal Reserve since 2018. After earning a degree in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and a Jur ...

stated that the Federal Reserve would not issue a

(CBDC) without explicit congressional authorization. On April 28, Powell stated in a press conference following a

Federal Open Market Committee The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a committee within the Federal Reserve System (the Fed), is charged under United States law with overseeing the nation's open market operations (e.g., the Fed's buying and selling of United States Treasu ...

(FOMC) policy meeting that the CBDC system that exists in China could not exist in the United States due to privacy concerns. On May 20, Powell issued a press statement announcing that the Board of Governors would release a

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

on a CBDC for the U.S. dollar. On July 14, Powell testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee about CBDC, stated that the white paper on creating a CBDC for the U.S. dollar would be released in a few months, and that

stablecoin Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies where the price is supposed to be pegged to a reference asset, which is either fiat money, exchange-traded commodities (such as precious metals or industrial metals), or another cryptocurrency. In theory, the p ...

s and cryptocurrencies would not be needed if there was a CBDC for the U.S. dollar. At a press conference following an FOMC policy meeting on September 22, Powell stated that the Federal Reserve was continuing work on the white paper. On October 14, United Wholesale Mortgage announced that it would cease a company pilot to accept mortgage loan repayments in bitcoin. On January 18, 2022,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Tom Emmer Thomas Earl Emmer Jr.Helgeson, Baird, ''Star Tribune'', July 11, 2010. (born March 3, 1961) is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. representative for since 2015. The district includes most of the Twin Cities' far northern ...

(

GOP The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, ...

;

MN-6 Minnesota's 6th congressional district includes most or all of Benton, Carver, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright, Anoka, and Washington counties. Many of the Twin Cities' northern and northwestern suburbs are included within the boundaries of ...

) introduced a bill (HR 6415) to prohibit Federal Reserve Banks from issuing a CBDC. On January 20, the Federal Reserve released its CBDC white paper with a 120-day public comment window. On February 18, Federal Reserve Vice Chair

Lael Brainard Lael Brainard (born January 1, 1962) is an American economist serving as the 22nd Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve since May 23, 2022. Prior to her term as vice chair, Brainard served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since 2 ...

gave a speech arguing in favor of a CBDC at a

University of Chicago Booth School of Business The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth or Booth) is the graduate business school of the University of Chicago. Founded in 1898, Chicago Booth is the second-oldest business school in the U.S. and is associated with 10 N ...

forum on monetary policy in the United States. On May 19, House Republican Conference members on the Financial Services Committee sent a letter to Powell expressing concerns about CBDC and its potential effects on monetary policy and privacy rights. On May 26, Brainard testified before the House Financial Services Committee in favor of a CBDC and argued that it could exist alongside stablecoins. At a conference on the role of the U.S. dollar in the international economy hosted by the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...

on June 17, Powell noted in an opening statement that the public comment window for the Federal Reserve CBDC white paper was still open. On June 22, the office of U.S. Representative

Jim Himes James Andrew Himes (born July 5, 1966) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the New Democrat Coalition in the 115th Congress (2017–2019). H ...

(

DEM DEM was the ISO 4217 currency code for the Deutsche Mark, former currency of Germany Computing * Digital elevation model, a digital representation of ground-surface topography or terrain ** .dem, a common extension for USGS DEM files * Discre ...

; CT-4) released a white paper supporting a CBDC. On July 8, Brainard called for greater regulation of cryptocurrencies before the industry's size threatens the financial system.

Justice and Homeland Security Departments

On March 5, 2021, McAfee Corp. founder

John McAfee John David McAfee ( ; 18 September 1945 – 23 June 2021) was a British-American computer programmer, businessman, and two-time presidential candidate who unsuccessfully sought the Libertarian Party nomination for president of the United States ...

was indicted in the Southern New York U.S. District Court for promoting a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump scheme on his Twitter account that he made $23 million from (after being indicted by the Justice Department for tax evasion on money earned from the scheme and sued by the SEC for promoting the scheme the previous October). On May 13,

Binance Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange which is the largest exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 and is registered in the Cayman Islands. Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao, a dev ...

was reportedly under investigation by the

U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

and the

for usage by users for

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictio ...

and

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

. On February 8, 2022, the U.S. Justice Department arrested businessman Ilya Lichtenstein and rapper Heather R. Morgan for attempting to launder and seized $3.6 billion of the $4.5 billion worth of bitcoin allegedly stolen in the

2016 Bitfinex hack The Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange was hacked in August 2016. 119,756 bitcoin, worth about million at the time, were stolen. In February 2022, the US government recovered and seized a portion of the stolen bitcoin, then worth billion, by decr ...

, while the U.S. Justice Department immediately filed a request with District of Columbia U.S. District Court

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

Beryl A. Howell to reverse the bail decision made by Southern New York U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Debra C. Freeman for Lichtenstein and Morgan due to flight risk concerns (with Lictenstein being jailed and Morgan remaining under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

with ankle bracelet monitoring instead of allowing both to go free on $5 million and $3 million bail respectively). On February 24,

BitMEX BitMEX is a cryptocurrency exchange and derivative trading platform. It is owned and operated by HDR Global Trading Limited, which is registered in the Seychelles. History BitMEX was founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed, ...

founders Arthur Hayes and

Ben Delo Ben Delo (, born 24 February 1984) is a British entrepreneur. He is a co-founder and former executive of BitMEX. In 2022, Delo pled guilty to breaking United States Bank Secrecy Act violations and received a 30 month probation sentence and $10m ...

plead guilty to charges of violating the anti-money laundering provisions of the

Bank Secrecy Act The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA), also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, is a U.S. law requiring financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies in detecting and preventing money laund ...

and each agreed to pay a $10 million fine (after the company agreed to pay a $100 million fine in a settlement with the CFTC the previous August). On March 8, the owners and operators of the cryptocurrency companies EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin were indicted in the Eastern New York U.S. District Court for conspiracy to commit

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activit ...

and

and for defrauding investors of $40 million. On March 18, the Southern New York U.S. District Court (with

Senior Judge Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at least ...

P. Kevin Castel presiding) convicted the operator of the World Sports Alliance, a cryptocurrency scam that offered a token called IGObit and claimed to be affiliated with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

, of defrauding 60 investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars. On March 24, the U.S. Justice Department charged two operators of a $1.1 million non-fungible token rug pull called "Frosties" with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. On April 25,

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

and former Minnesota Vikings minority owner Reggie Fowler plead guilty to charges of

bank fraud Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many in ...

in a $600 million crypto scheme. On May 6, the U.S. Justice Department charged the CEO of Mining Capital Coin with operating a fraudulent $62 million crypto scheme. On the same day, FTX CEO

Sam Bankman-Fried Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried (born March 6, 1992), also known by the initialism SBF, is an American suspected fraudster, entrepreneur, investor, and former billionaire. Bankman-Fried was the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FT ...

defined an industry practice known as "yield farming" in an interview with Bloomberg News journalists Matt Levine,

Joe Weisenthal Joseph Weisenthal (born September 2, 1980) is an American journalist, television presenter and podcaster. He is the executive editor of news for Bloomberg's digital brands, the co-anchor of ''What’d You Miss?'' on Bloomberg Television, and co-h ...

, and Tracy Alloway that Levine and Weisenthal stated met the definition of a

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comi ...

. On May 12, the CEO of EminiFX was charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with operating a fraudulent $59 million crypto scheme in Southern New York U.S. District Court. On June 1, a former

product manager A product manager (PM) is a professional role that is responsible for the development of products for an organization, known as the practice of product management. Product managers own the product strategy behind a product (physical or digital), ...

OpenSea OpenSea is an American online non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace headquartered in New York City. The company was founded by Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah in 2017. OpenSea offers a marketplace allowing for non-fungible tokens to be sold directl ...

, a

non-fungible token A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the b ...

marketplace, was arrested by the Southern New York U.S. Attorney's Office on charges of

and

in connection with an

insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...

scheme that he was dismissed by the company for the previous September. On June 3, the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

issued a report showing that approximately 46,000 investors lost more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency scams from January 2021 through March 2022 (with $329 million dollars in the first quarter of 2022). On June 6,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was establ ...

reported that Binance had facilitated $2.35 billion in money laundering from 2017 to 2021. On June 29, a

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...

request stated that

Coinbase Coinbase Global, Inc., branded Coinbase, is an American publicly traded company that operates a cryptocurrency exchange platform. Coinbase is a distributed company; all employees operate via remote work and the company lacks a physical headqua ...

had shared

blockchain A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of growing lists of records, called ''blocks'', that are securely linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, ...

technology for investigating financial crimes with

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration th ...

. On June 30, the U.S. Justice Department filed

securities fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in lo ...

charges against the leaders of EmpiresX, a more than $100 million cryptocurrency exchange Ponzi scheme. On the same day, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

(FBI) added Ruja Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List for the $4 billion

OneCoin OneCoin is a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme conducted by offshore companies OneCoin Ltd, based in Bulgaria and registered in Dubai, and OneLife Network Ltd (registered in Belize), both founded by Ruja Ignatova in concert with Sebastian Gree ...

Ponzi scheme. On July 19, the FBI issued a

public warning ''Public Warning'' is the first studio album by English hip hop artist Lady Sovereign, released on 31 October 2006. Was originally due for release in November 2005 but was pushed back after Lady Sovereign was signed by Island Def Jam. In a Ju ...

that stated that fraudulent cryptocurrency mobile phone applications had defrauded 244 investors of $42 million since the previous October. On July 21, three former Coinbase employees were indicted in the Southern New York U.S. District Court for an alleged insider trading scheme involving $1.5 million worth of cryptocurrency assets listed on the exchange, while the SEC filed an insider trading lawsuit against the same employees in the Western Washington U.S. District Court.

Treasury and Labor Departments

During

Janet Yellen Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist serving as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26, 2021. She previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. Yellen is t ...

's confirmation hearing for Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator

Maggie Hassan Margaret Coldwell Hassan (; née Wood; born February 27, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from New Hampshire. A Democrat, Hassan was elected to the Senate in 2016 while serving as the 81st ...

(D- NH) asked about the use of cryptocurrency by terrorists and other criminals. "Cryptocurrencies are a particular concern," Yellen responded. "I think many are used—at least in a transactions sense—mainly for illicit financing." She said she wanted to "examine ways in which we can curtail their use and make sure that oney launderingdoesn't occur through those channels." On May 13, 2021,

was reportedly under investigation by the

and the

(IRS) for usage by users for

and

. On August 4, IRS officials stated that the agency had seized $1.2 billion worth of bitcoin during fiscal year 2021. On August 6, the Biden administration released a press statement announcing support for the cryptocurrency tax reporting amendment to the

proposed by U.S. Senators

Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Portman was the 35th director of the Office of Management ...

(R– OH),

Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Lea Sinema (; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician and former social worker serving as the senior United States senator from Arizona since January 2019. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent in ...

(D– AZ), and

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th govern ...

(D– VA) rather than the amendment proposed by U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R–WY),

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representa ...

(R– PA), and

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden (; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the senior United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States House ...

(D– OR). On August 9, a compromise amendment proposed by Toomey, Warner, Lummis, Sinema, and Portman (No. 2656) failed to pass on a

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...

vote called by Toomey when Senator

Richard Shelby Richard Craig Shelby (born May 6, 1934) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Alabama. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 as a Democrat who later switched to the Republican Party in 1994, he ...

(R– AL) objected to the amendment if it did not include a defense infrastructure spending amendment he introduced (No. 2535), which Toomey agreed to but Senators

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 200 ...

( I– VT) and

Tom Carper Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the senior United States senator from Delaware, having held the seat since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, Carper served in ...

(D– DE) objected to. On November 15, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law with the original language in the bill related to cryptocurrency tax reporting and definition of cryptocurrency brokers. On March 10, 2022, the

Employee Benefits Security Administration The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor responsible for administering, regulating and enforcing the provisions of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ...

of the U.S. Labor Department issued a compliance assistance release warning financial services companies against including cryptocurrencies in

401(k) In the United States, a 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored, defined-contribution, personal pension (savings) account, as defined in subsection 401(k) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Periodical employee contributions come directly out of their ...

s and other retirement plans and to use extreme caution if doing so. On April 20, the

U.S. Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

sanctioned Russian bitcoin miners as the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

entered its third month. On May 6, the Treasury Department sanctioned Blender.io, a cryptocurrency mixer, from the U.S. financial system due to its usage by the

Lazarus Group Lazarus Group (also known by other monikers such as Guardians of Peace or Whois Team ) is a cybercrime group made up of an unknown number of individuals run by the government of North Korea. While not much is known about the Lazarus Group, resea ...

cybercrime A cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network.Moore, R. (2005) "Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime," Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing. The computer may have been used in committing ...

organization operated by the

North Korean government In the North Korean government, the Cabinet is the administrative and executive body. The North Korean government consists of three branches: administrative, legislative, and judicial. However, they are not independent of each other, but all br ...

) to launder $20.5 million of cryptocurrency associated with '' Axie Infinity''.

Unions

On January 22, 2021, Biden issued Executive Order 14003 that removed Schedule F, overturning a number of Trump's policies that limited the

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

power of federal unions. He called on Amazon workers to vote for union representation in a closely watched election in Alabama. This was stronger support than any president has given unions in decades. However the workers defeated the proposal 71% to 29%, enhancing Amazon's reputation as a leading bulwark against unionization. Labor activists said Biden's advocacy would build his support in the working class, fighting off Republican inroads there.

Taxation and deficits

Individual taxes

Biden has pledged to raise taxes only on individual persons earning over $200,000, or $400,000 for married couples filing jointly. Treasury Secretary nominee

reiterated Biden's pledge in her answers during her Senate confirmation hearing process in January 2021. The individual tax cuts in President Trump's

are scheduled to expire after 2025, for all income levels. This means they automatically revert to the higher rates of the Obama Administration, in the absence of new legislation.

Corporate taxes

Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. This rate was lowered by the Republican's 2017

from 35% to 21%, so Biden's proposal represents a partial reversal. The 21% tax rate does not expire, in contrast to the individual rates, so legislation would be required to raise it.

International taxation

Finance officials from 130 countries agreed on July 1, 2021 to plans for a new international taxation policy. All the major economies agreed to pass national laws that would require corporations to pay at least 15% income tax in the countries they operate. This new policy would end the practice of locating world headquarters in small countries with very low taxation rates. Governments hope to recoup some of the lost revenue, estimated at $100 billion to $240 billion each year. The new system was promoted by the Biden Administration and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

). Secretary-General

Mathias Cormann Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann (; ; born 20 September 1970) is a Belgian-born Australian politician and diplomat who currently serves as Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), having assumed the off ...

of the OECD said, "This historic package will ensure that large multinational companies pay their fair share of tax everywhere."

Budget deficit

The first year that President Biden budgeted is fiscal 2022, which runs from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. CBO forecast in July 2021 that the budget deficit in fiscal year 2022 will be $1.2 trillion, or 4.7% GDP. This is a significant reduction to the budget deficits of $3.1 trillion (15.0% GDP) in FY2020 and $2.8 trillion (12.4% GDP) in FY2021, the last two fiscal years budgeted by President Trump. Those two record annual budget deficits were unusually high, primarily due to response measures to the Coronavirus pandemic. During February 2021, the CBO forecast budget deficits for 2021-2031, based on legislation in effect as of January 12, 2021, prior to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This represents the deficit trajectory inherited by Biden; the deficit impact of his policies may be measured against that baseline. CBO later published a baseline including the impact of ARPA. OMB then published its forecast for Biden's fiscal 2022 budget, which includes ARPA plus Biden's American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. These amounts are shown in the following table: Deficits in fiscal 2021 and 2022 will be significantly increased by ARPA, although the impact falls thereafter. The budget deficit is expected to fall mid-decade as pandemic-related spending fades and the economy returns to normal. Thereafter, deficits rise due to the long-term trends of an aging country (e.g., fewer workers per retiree) and healthcare costs rising faster than GDP growth.

Theoretical economic perspectives

In terms of theoretical economic perspectives, Bidenomics stands in striking contrast to the previously dominant economic model, known globally as the

Washington consensus The Washington Consensus is a set of ten economic policy prescriptions considered to constitute the "standard" reform package promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries by Washington, D.C.-based institutions such as the International Monet ...

, or (among its opponents) as

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

. Milton Friedman was the intellectual godfather, with a base in the

Chicago school of economics The Chicago school of economics is a neoclassical school of economic thought associated with the work of the faculty at the University of Chicago, some of whom have constructed and popularized its principles. Milton Friedman and George Stigl ...

. It was the dominant economic policy of Western nations from Ronald Reagan in the United States in the 1980s. through the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, as well as the British leaders Margaret Thatcher,

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

and

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

. According to

Greg Ip Greg Ip (born June 18, 1964) is a Canadian-American journalist, currently the chief economics commentator for ''The Wall Street Journal''. A native of Canada, Ip received a bachelor's degree in economics and journalism from Carleton University in ...

of the '' Wall Street Journal'', "Bidenomics Seeks to Remake the Economic Consensus: Declaring end to neoliberalism, new thinkers play down constraints of deficits, inflation and incentives" Bidenomics draws on an even older economic heritage going back to

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...

in the 1930s, and including Americans Walter Heller,

James Tobin James Tobin (March 5, 1918 – March 11, 2002) was an American economist who served on the Council of Economic Advisers and consulted with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard and Yale Universities. He de ...

, and

Arthur Okun Arthur Melvin "Art" Okun (November 28, 1928 – March 23, 1980) was an American economist. He served as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers between 1968 and 1969. Before serving on the C.E.A., he was a professor at Yale University an ...

in the 1960s. Versions of

Keynesianism Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...

were the dominant American and British economic theory before the 1970s. Politically, liberals and Democrats have leaned toward Keynes; Republicans and conservatives favor the Chicago School.

Macroeconomics

The old view is that the economy is built around scarcity, because the demand for labor and capital and everything else is unlimited. To achieve full employment and faster growth, more work is needed and more incentives to work. Monetary and fiscal policy is seldom needed, since the market system naturally produces optimum results. Bidenomics argues that not scarcity but slack is the main problem. The market system is typically stuck below optimal levels. Full employment and growth is held back by a lack of demand, and needs the stimulation of aggressive fiscal policies such as deficit spending, as well as monetary policies to keep cash flowing.

Budget deficits

The traditional view warned against budget deficits in time of prosperity, because the pool of savings is limited. Government deficits use cash that otherwise would be invested in the private sector, and the competition between the Treasury and corporations drives up interest rates. Bidenomics holds that the developed world is awash in surplus savings, which has produced very low interest rates. Absorbing some of this huge pool of savings through large deficits will not divert private investments, and will not raise interest rates. As for tax rates, the very low interest rates makes covering the national debt much easier.

Welfare state

The old view said the welfare state is a necessary evil, and should be focused on people without other resources, such as the elderly. Unemployment insurance is allowed because it covered by payroll taxes on workers who are employed, but it should be limited so that no one is tempted to turn down a job offer. The argument is that work, no matter how poorly paid, confers dignity. Bidenomics says the government should be promoting the national welfare, and a critical ingredient in our society is caring for dependents – especially children and elderly parents. It is a technical flaw in the definition of Gross Domestic Product that unpaid household care is not included, even though it is so important. The Biden American Rescue Plan that became law in March 2021 includes a greatly expanded

Taxation and globalization

The old view strongly emphasized the wisdom of lowering income taxes, arguing that high rates discourage work, discourage investment, slow growth, and render the U.S. less competitive in a globalized world. Furthermore the minimum wage reduces employment. The new view is that more danger comes from monopoly power, especially as exerted by the giant high tech companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. Taxation, regulation and anti-trust laws should be used to control them. Furthermore the status quo is creating many multi-billionaires, who largely evade taxation. The result is rapidly growing inequality that is politically and socially destabilizing. The old view warns that labor unions where the monopolies to worry about and fight against; Biden has been a strong supporter of labor unions. The new view cites research to show that people paying higher tax rates do not make less effort, and high minimum wages do not reduce employment. However the minimum wage does pull millions of families out of poverty. As for globalization, the new view warns that globalization raises total world output by moving American jobs to China and elsewhere. The new view warns against China as a threat to long-term American economic interests. Tariffs, which were strongly opposed in the old view, now become a useful weapon. Regarding China, Bidenomics is somewhat parallel to the Trump administration policy. Ihe old view called for lowering American tax rates to remain competitive internationally . In April 2021 Biden proposed a different approach . The United States would work with the European Community, Britain, Japan and other friendly nations to form a standardized international minimum income tax. The goal is to stop the globalization process whereby companies relocate headquarters into the international host with the lowest tax.Paul Hannon and Richard Rubin, "Tax Talks Gain Momentum as U.S. Offers New Proposal Toward Global Deal: Proposal focuses on how to tax corporate income whose location is difficult to pin down,
''Wall Street Journal'' April 8, 2021
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Unemployment

The traditional view warned that when fiscal policy pushes unemployment below its natural level, inflation rises and interest rates go up. The new view is that fiscal and monetary policy should be used to minimize unemployment as much as possible. The argument is that unemployment does not normally cause inflation, and if it eventually does so the social cost of unemployment is much higher than the social cost of inflation.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, United States Policies of Joe Biden Biden, Joe

Overview

2021

2022

Key Legislation

American Rescue Plan Act

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

CHIPS and Science Act

Inflation Reduction Act

Statistical summary

First year: January 2021 to January 2022

January 2021 to Latest Period

Plans and legislative strategies

American Jobs Plan

American Families Plan

Build Back Better Act

Biden's first budget FY 2022

COVID-19

January 2021

Minimum wage

Trade

Education

Student loan forgiveness

Healthcare

Cryptocurrency

CFTC

Federal Reserve

Justice and Homeland Security Departments

Treasury and Labor Departments

Unions

Taxation and deficits

Individual taxes

Corporate taxes

International taxation

Budget deficit

Theoretical economic perspectives

Macroeconomics

Budget deficits

Welfare state

Taxation and globalization

Unemployment

See also

References

External links