Thread by @AlexEpstein

I can summarize the economic portion of Biden’s SOTU in one word: evasion.

President Biden is evading responsibility for the consequences of the anti-freedom, anti-development, anti-fossil-fuel policies he has supported.

Things won’t get better until he’s held accountable.
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In the economic portion of his SOTU, @JoeBiden focused on 3 problems: 1) the decline of US industry and infrastructure, 2) the global energy crisis, and 3) the supply chain crisis.

While Biden portrayed himself as the solution to all 3 problems, he is in fact a major cause.

1: Biden’s role in the decline of US industry and infrastructure

Why have US industry and infrastructure declined?

*Because industry and infrastructure require development*—and we have, with Biden’s support, been passing *anti-development environmental policies* for 50+ years.

One of the anti-development environmental policies crippling American industry and infrastructure is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The previous administration made some valuable NEPA reforms, which Biden immediately overturned.
energytalkingpoints.com/nepa/

In his #SOTU @JoeBiden repeatedly heralded the new infrastructure law. But that law, because it rejected NEPA reform, was actually an *anti-infrastructure* law that makes the projects it supports, along with many, many others, unnecessarily difficult.

https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1395813753866932224

The root solution to our industry/manufacturing problems is to *liberate responsible development*. By totally failing to do this, Biden’s “buy American” policies will just subsidize inefficient operations and increase our cost of living even more.

In his #SOTU, @JoeBiden asked “Where is it written that America can’t lead the world in manufacturing again?”

The answer: It is written in the endless anti-development industrial regulations that Biden is only adding to.

2: Biden’s role in the global energy crisis

In his #SOTU @JoeBiden portrayed the global energy crisis as a problem that he is solving. In fact, it’s a problem he has helped cause with anti-fossil-fuel policies—and is making worse with new anti-fossil-fuel policies.

Biden’s sole explanation for the global energy crisis was “Putin’s war.”

But the root cause is global anti-fossil-fuel policies, supported by Biden—which made FF prices artificially high pre-war and prevented the free world from quickly increasing production in response.

Here’s an in-depth explanation I gave at a Congressional off-site last year of how the global anti-fossil-fuel movement, including the Biden administration, caused the global energy crisis—including its major impacts on inflation.
alexepstein.substack.com/p/testimony-ho…

As I have documented extensively, had Biden and other Democrats spent the last 3.5 years (including the 2 of the Biden admin) liberating US oil/gas investment, production, and transport instead of strangling them, energy would be far cheaper.

https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1585341060435173377

Instead of taking any responsibility whatsoever for the disastrous shortage of fossil fuels today, President “I guarantee you, we’re going to end fossil fuel” Biden continues engaging in a denial campaign that blames everyone but him and his allies.

https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1514310086646108162

Biden’s bragging about gasoline prices being “down $1.50 a gallon since their peak” is inane because 1) he helped cause that peak, 2) prices would be lower without his policies, and 3) his only downward influence has been irresponsibly draining the SPR.
alexepstein.substack.com/p/how-bidens-a…

Not only has Biden been a significant cause of the global energy crisis, he has taken actions to compound it by 1) passing the disastrous, anti-fossil-fuel “Inflation Reduction Act” and 2) continuing to threaten fossil fuel producers.
alexepstein.substack.com/p/the-inflatio…