Brian Brenberg on implications of a fifth coronavirus relief bill
Is temporary government relief being turned into a top-down reinvention of the U.S. economy? Insight from Fox News contributor Brian Brenberg, chair of the business and finance program at The King's College in New York City.
Democrats are using coronavirus stimulus negotiations as an opportunity to push their big-government liberal agenda, The King's College Professor Brian Brenberg warned Saturday.
In an interview on "Fox & Friends Weekend," Brenberg said he has been worried that efforts from politicians are not about recovery anymore.
"This is about a convenient vehicle to get the Democrats' progressive agenda through Congress," he stated.
"I mean, you look at what we are talking about right now," Brenberg pointed out. "We are talking about things that look like head-scratchers when it comes to recovery. We are talking about forgiving student loans. We are talking about massive new programs for rent relief and mortgages. We are talking about another round of stimulus checks."
"And, the question is, do these things really help us recover? Is this what the economy really needs or is this just an opportunity to get this progressive agenda through by another means?" he asked.
"Americans balked at the tens of trillions of dollars of price tag we saw with the Green New Deal and now we’re getting it on the installment plan," said Brenberg. "And, I think America has to wake up to it. I think Republicans in Congress have to wake up to it."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
"We have to talk about real stimulus or real relief -- what the economy really needs and not ideology right now," he asserted.
In a new op-ed, Brenberg wrote that even as the economy speeds up ahead of the fifth coronavirus stimulus bill, "proposals for trillions of dollars more in government stimulus spending aren’t slowing down."
"It’s that clear progressive politicians have no intention to let go of the power they’ve acquired during the pandemic," he penned.
The solution Brenberg says is a "pro-growth agenda."
"The only thing that helps people at the end of the day is a growing economy where businesses are looking for workers and they’re hiring again," he told the "Fox & Friends Weekend" hosts. "So, the measure we should be using for everything in this bill is does it grow the economy or does it stall us out?"
"So, we need to have policy that gets people back to work. Republicans are talking about some that are good: liability protection for businesses. We should be talking about ways that we can put more money in workers' pockets, [and] make it easier for businesses to hire," Brenberg argued.
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"Republicans need to go to the country with a pro-growth agenda, with something that gets people back to work. That makes sense to people intuitively. They know pork when they see it. And, they know growth when they see it," he said.
"I think Republicans have to do a much better job of putting that on the line clearly and not starting from a weak position when they negotiate with Speaker Pelosi," the Fox News contributor concluded.
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