Nanny Biden’s meddling on alcohol reminds us why we’ll be better off with Trump | Opinion

President Joe Biden is just weeks away from leaving office, but he keeps doing his best to remind the country why he can’t exit the White House soon enough.

Throughout his presidency, Biden and his administration have leaned on government regulations to hamstring businesses and limit personal freedoms.

Sure, he can claim he’s had our best interests in mind, but as is the case with most government intrusion, it ends up doing more harm than good.

Here are two recent examples:

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently released a new report on the links between drinking alcohol and cancer. He doesn’t just want the public to know about this – he wants to mandate that warnings about cancer risk get slapped on alcohol packaging, much like with cigarettes.

Do we really need this kind of government hand-holding to let us know drinking could be harmful? I don’t know anyone who mistakes a beer or bourbon for a health drink (even though other research has shown red wine holds some health benefits).

Tobacco and obesity are bigger risks than alcohol as preventable causes of cancer. So where should the warnings end? If overconsumption can lead to cancer, perhaps all foods – or anything with calories – should have the same warning label.

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Biden fines JetBlue for delayed flights. How is that going to help?

Biden is also continuing his nitpicking of the airline industry. He and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have issued a slew of additional regulations on airlines, forcing them to compensate passengers for inconveniences and limiting their ability to add fees for certain services.

Apparently Biden wanted to go out with bang, and his administration on Friday slapped a $2 million fine on JetBlue Airways for “chronically delayed flights.” It is the first such penalty of its kind, according to the Department of Transportation.

“Today’s action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” Buttigieg said in a statement.

Is this really the federal government’s job?

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All these fines and regulations will make flying even more costly for consumers, and they aren’t likely to do anything to improve service.

JetBlue has countered that the onus is on the government to improve air traffic control staffing and to update its system – something other major airlines have called for, too.

Biden’s legacy of heavy-handed government

These are just two of the latest examples of Biden’s actions as nanny in chief. After four years, Biden leaves a legacy of executive overreach, which often got shot down in the courts (thank goodness).

From significantly expanding the salary threshold for overtime pay to floating a ban on gas stoves to telling us what kinds of cars we can drive, the Biden administration sought to insert itself into the private marketplace in intrusive ways.

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Yet, the most egregious example of Biden’s meddling was his insistence on keeping the country in a “national emergency” far longer than was necessary.

Former President (now President-elect) Donald Trump first declared an emergency in response to COVID-19 in 2020. But Biden enjoyed the extra powers he could wield while the country remained in a state of emergency, and he didn’t want to give them up. He didn’t until April 2023.

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During this time, Biden used the excuse of a national emergency to attempt to “forgive” $400 billion in student loan debt – something the Supreme Court rightly found unconstitutional.

The high court also put an end to his administration’s ban on evictions and its vaccine mandate on private businesses.

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea.

Trump has promised to roll back many of the regulations Biden misguidedly put in place. That change can’t come soon enough.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: From airlines to alcohol, Biden’s meddling has gotten old | Opinion

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