Bidenomics and Polish Politics

With Joe Biden as US President and the EU’s economic policies going full anti-austerity the shift in Polish politics is already underway. What is the left-wing rationale for supporting the government’s spending plans in Poland and will they or others benefit from this new economic policy in the long run?

During the last campaign, the US media speculated whether Joe Biden’s economic agenda would turn out to be of progressive or rather moderate type. In fact, there were sound reasons to believe both claims. One could not help but doubt the official, FDR-like campaign messaging when no one other than Biden himself, during a closed meeting with the donor had said that if he won, “nothing would fundamentally change.”.

These speculations ended in early spring when the White House had finally put forward comprehensive, multi-trillion-dollar legislation (i.e. American Rescue Plan, American Jobs Plan, American Family Plan). Even though the Democratic control of Congress is almost always under question, it is safe to say the new administration seems to have so far avoided the austerity politics trap that (as we now know) Obama’s team eagerly jumped into.

During the June G7 meeting Biden unambiguously called world leaders to “boost their economies”, which in politspeak translates into “borrow more”. After the recent avalanche of internal progressive-leaning economic policy proposals and the agreement on global minimum corporate tax rate it’s safe to say that the status quo in the US-lead West will be moving into a more Keynesian direction. This approach is based on a state intervention in the economy focusing on investment in public utilities and services funded mainly by public (in case of the EU, also ‘federalised’) debt.