Five key economic points in Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address to Congress

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Return of the billionaire tax?
Biden renewed his call for levying a tax on billionaires and corporate stock buybacks to reduce the federal deficit.
"The tax system is not fair; it's not fair," Biden said. "The idea that in 2020, 55 of the largest corporations in America, of Fortune 500, made $40 billion in profits and paid $0 in federal taxes? $0? Folks, it's simply not fair."
War on ‘junk fees’
Biden continued his crusade against unnecessary “junk fees” from banks, airlines, cable companies and other industries which add surprise costs to consumer bills.
“Look, junk fees may not matter for the very wealthy but they matter to most other folks in homes like the one I grew up in,” Biden said. “They add up to hundreds of dollars a month. They make it harder for you to pay your bills.”
Antitrust takes center stage
In addition to junk fees, Biden’s administration has been dogged in addressing antitrust concerns, a point the president stressed in his State of the Union address. Biden issued an executive order in October allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter, making them much cheaper for the average consumer.
“Look, capitalism without competition is not capitalism, it’s extortion,” Biden said Tuesday night.
Labor and wages
The president outlined several worker-first initiatives as part of his broader effort to build an “economy that works for everyone, so we can all feel pride in what we do.”
He berated companies that make workers sign noncompete agreements, referring to an executive order signed last month that encourages the Federal Trade Commission to ban or limit noncompete agreements. Biden said 30 million Americans have had to sign noncompete agreements from positions ranging from executives to fast-food cashiers.
Expanding the insulin price cap
Drug prices were again top of mind for Biden. The president called for broadening the $35 price cap on insulin passed in the Inflation Reduction Act for Medicare to privately insured Americans in need.
“One in ten Americans had diabetes, many people in this chamber do, in the audience,” Biden said. “And every day millions need insulin to control their diabetes so they can literally stay alive.”
Biden chided drug companies for hiking the price of insulin from roughly $10 a bottle to make, up to hundreds of dollars a month, “making record profits,” off of the drug. He cheered Congress’ measure to cap the cost for Medicare recipients, but stressed it needed to be expanded.
What does this mean?
Many of the ideas proposed by Biden, like the billionaire tax and PRO Act, are going to be tough sells in the Republican-controlled House and likely dead on arrival.
The White House and House Republicans are already at a stand-still on whether Congress will lift the debt ceiling, a routine measure done for decades consistently without conditions. House Republicans are threatening to allow the country to default on its debt obligations if Biden does not agree to spending cuts he believes should be handled separately. One month into the new Congress, the situation is a peek into how other negotiations will play out. $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ $Invesco QQQ Trust(QQQ.US)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF(SPY.US)$