Bidenomics vs. Reaganomics | Do Their Policies Affect Your Retirement?

News or Noise:  News

“Bidenomics” is the new term for the marketing campaign centered around President Bidens economic policies.  Economic policies that less than 40% of voters think are working if one believes the polls.  With the 2024 election 15 months away, the Biden administration is PR mode. They are on TV and have spreadout across the country to promote the president’s economic
policies. These programs include the Infrastructure Act of 2021, the Chips and Science Act of 2022 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, all of which provide incentives, financed by taxpayors or more deficit borrowing, for companies to invest in physical infrastructure.

President Biden and his supporters describe “Bidenomics” as an effort to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.  At its heart, it’s near the exact opposite of conservative hero, President Ronald Reagan’s, and his “Reaganomics” policies when he served as the 40th U.S. president from 1981–1989. Reagans economic policies called for widespread tax cuts, decreased social spending, increased military spending, and the deregulation of domestic markets.  It became widely referred to as trickle down economics. Based on the principles of supply-side economics and the trickle-down theory, Reaganomics proposed that decreases in taxes, especially for corporations, stimulate economic growth. If the expenses of corporations are reduced, the growth they provides and their savings then “trickle down” to the rest of the economy, spurring overall growth.  That was the theory.

Reagan regarded government intervention as friction on economic growth that reduced economic incentives and distorted market signals. To spur free markets, he introduced measures to reduce government interference and cut many levvels of government power and oversite.  On the other hand he did expand government spending on military.

Reagan removed price controls on oil and gas, reduced restrictions on the financial services industry, and relaxed the enforcement of the Clean Air Act. The Department of the Interior also opened large areas of public land for oil drilling.

Compare and contrast this with the current administrations “Bidenomics” policies, whose term seems a great marketing spin to engage those who remmber President Reagan so fondly.

Biden’s administration economic policies have emphasized the federal government’s role in picking winners in private industry through tax payor funded subsidies, largely centered around “green energy initiatives”.  At providing more, not less of a social safety net for American citizens through worker job protections, student loan forgiveness and loan writeoffs, more merger and acqusitions regulation and enforcement by the FTC,  and overall increasing the size and scope of the Federal government. Bidenomics favors public power and Federal government intervention and regulation over private market efficiency and capital allocation.

I know which policies I favor personally as a taxpayor ad voter, however, that isn’t my job as an investment manager.    That job is to determine, whether I like current or future government policies, what public companies marginal ROIC is helped or hurt over the long term by policy changes in DC.  My job is to allocate our clients capital to generate investment returns for their risk profile.  My job is not to pontificate on whether I like or agree with every econmic policy in DC or not.  It’s to be a steward of our clients capital and allocate it as efficeintly and profitabily as possible weighing the risk and reward.

Is Bidenomics news for your money?  Sure, just as almost every policy made up in DC is? But the question isn’t is it news or do I agree or disagree with the policys, its can or should we change our investment outlook or positioning because of them.  Most oflen?  The answer is a resounding no.  What can say positively about the current Democratic adminstartion in DC and their economici policies, packaged as Bidenomics?  Well they definitely have a better marketing team than anyone in the conservative Republican party.

Are you trying to meet your needs or your greed’s in retirement? Give us a call at  or click here and schedule an intial consultation with an Oak Harvest Advisor. We will sit down with you, and help you and your family do the math to figure out if you will be able to meet your retirement goals and needs.