Unions hate Biden’s EV push, Schumer & Co. vs. democracy and other commentary

Green desk: Unions Hate Biden’s EV Push

An “alignment between the United Auto Workers and former President Trump over electric vehicles threatens” the “alliance between the union and the Democratic Party,” notes Axios’ Nathan Bomey, with the UAW “withholding an endorsement for Biden’s 2024 campaign.” Already, “one in three UAW members voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020.” And “UAW President Shawn Fain ripped” Biden after “the Energy Department announced a $9.2 billion loan to Ford to build battery plants in the South,” since “EV factories won’t employ as many people as traditional assembly plants” and the likely “lower wages at new battery-making joint ventures.” As “Democrats need the Midwest to preserve political power, the president’s commitment to promoting EVs is testing his support among longtime allies

China beat: Cuba Base = Global Power Grab

“It has long been clear that China and Cuba, among the handful of remaining communist countries, view the U.S. as a common enemy,” warns Miles Yu at The Wall Street Journal — hence China “using Cuba for eavesdropping and military training,” “espionage efforts” that began “after the collapse of the Soviet Union.” “The influx of Chinese weapons into Cuba is in direct violation of countless U.S. sanctions” even as “China’s eavesdropping efforts” target Florida, “which has one of the highest concentrations of U.S. military facilities and command headquarters in the nation.” “For the past 20 years, both political parties have been willfully indolent about this threat.” So “American leaders of all political stripes” must “confront it.” “Now is a good time to start.”

Econ watch: Fed Regs Bleed Americans Dry

The costs of Biden-era new federal regulations — imposed “at a pace surpassing that of the Obama administration” — “amount to almost $10,000 per household,” reports economist Casey Mulligan for the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. And if “regulatory costs continue to rise at the same rate as they did during the Obama administration, the total costs of Biden’s rulemaking over an eight-year period would almost reach $60,000 per household.” By contrast, four years of Trump regulatory moves “reduced regulatory costs by almost $11,000 per household.” Oh, and Biden federal agencies underestimated the actual cost of their rulemaking by about 256%. “Government regulation may be the single greatest barrier to prosperity.

Gadfly: Schumer & Co. vs. Democracy

Sen. Chuck “Schumer’s disappointment in having to address and vote on the forgiveness of hundreds of billions of dollars in loans speaks volumes about the collapse of our constitutional values,” marvels Jonathan Turley at The Hill. The Supreme Court’s strikedown of President Biden’s “laughable” student-loan giveaway “was hardly a surprise,” since Biden and Nancy Pelosi had both said it would be an unconstitutional seizure of Congress’ power. Yet now “Schumer and his colleagues” say they ‘view the support of their authority to be an act of constitutional ‘cruelty’.” This “is a curious position for those who have campaigned on protecting ‘democracy’ ” as they now call on the prez “to avoid presenting this major program to Congress because they know that the majority would oppose it.”

Libertarian: Blame Feds for Air-Travel Blues

“It’s the old, you-had-one-job meme, only this time ruining thousands of holiday plans, business trips, and family reunions,” snarks Reason’s Matt Welch, commenting on the Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to have “enough air traffic controllers to meet consumer air travel demand, particularly in the New York City area.” He cites Reason transport-policy honcho Robert Poole’s piece for The Post: ATC shouldn’t be “housed in a federal bureaucracy,” but treated as “a public utility”: “Today, air-traffic control is provided by ATC utilities in 83 countries, including Canada, whose system has newer and better technology than FAA.” Until the agency hires more people in the tristate area, warns Welch, “expect thousands of cancellations and even more splutterings of social media rage.” “And as ever, blame the feds.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board