Biden's Big Labor favors mean taxpayers pay more for less

foxbusiness.com:

Citi Global Wealth Investments chief economist Steven Wieting discusses the impact of the Fed's inflation strategy on the labor market and overall economy on 'Making Money.'

For months, experts have illuminated reasons why a lack of skilled workers, inflation and frustrating project delays are eroding the bonanza of federal taxpayer investments in U.S. infrastructure.

Now a new regulation currying favor with union donors to fulfill President Biden’s repeated promise to be America’s "most pro-union president ever" is expected to make all three problems even worse. 

On Dec. 22, the Biden administration published a final rule that implements an executive order making federal construction contracts of $35 million or more subject to controversial project labor agreements. 

Joe Biden has repeatedly promised to be America’s «most pro-union president ever.» (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

PLAs are project-specific collective bargaining agreements that steer taxpayer-funded contracts to unionized contractors, granting union workers a virtual monopoly to build public works projects. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS FEAR BIDEN'S EXECUTIVE ORDER BOOSTING LABOR UNIONS WILL INCREASE CONSTRUCTION COSTS

This final rule is the latest in a series of anti-competitive and inflationary Biden administration policies pushing PLAs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of federal and federally assisted construction projects­­­­ – including roads, bridges, schools, transportation and other infrastructure procured by state and local governments – as well as clean energy projects and domestic manufacturing facilities built by private developers.

Together, these schemes artificially exacerbate the construction industry’s skilled labor