A recent analysis by Brookings looked how technology, platform regulation, and China policy may be impacted by the policies of a future Joe Biden/Kamala Harris administration should President Trump fail to be re-elected. As might be expected, the review pointed to greater regulation – including anti-bias and worker rights advocacy – as one likely outcome if a new administration takes office next year.
Also interesting are the ways that the Brookings analysts – and others – see a Biden/Harris administration as an enabler of technological advancement and innovation, especially in the area of technology infrastructure. This is also one of the ways where a Biden/Harris administration could be most constructive for fintech.
As the Brookings analysts point out, the fact that the Democratic vice presidential nominee is a Senator from California (who represents Silicon Valley) suggests that there might be greater insight into the issues and challenges of the 21st century technology industry than exists in the current administration.
This likely cuts both ways. A Democratic administration would likely be more supportive of immigration policies that would enable tech firms to keep and attract more talent – as well as for international talent to decide to innovate and build in the U.S. rather than in Europe or Asia. This would benefit fintechs across the board as much as it would benefit technology companies generally.
At the same, there’s no doubt that regulation – especially financial regulation – would likely see a resurgence. While many are wondering about the prospects of an Obamacare 2.0 in a Biden/Harris administration, fewer are discussing the possibility of a CPFB 2.0 and the likelihood of a renewed attention on fintech’s lenders in particular. I think that the CPFB’s creator, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, would probably not be headed to Treasury in the event the American people put Joe Biden in the White House, but her influence on the resurrection of the agency would be powerful.
At the same time, it is worth remembering that Joe Biden has a far different historical relationship to the world of finance, if not fintech, compared to Senator Warren. As a multi-decade senator of Delaware, Biden has been criticized – including by Senator Warren – for his “energetic work on behalf of the credit card companies.” A 19th century Delaware law allows any American company to incorporate in the state and not a few firms over the years have taken advantage of this to “place their profits in Delaware-based holding companies to avoid paying taxes in the places where they actually operate” as Tim Murphy described in Mother Jones last year.
It may be too much to suggest that the First 100 Days of a Biden Administration would feature a tug-of-war between the new president and Warren over the appropriate attitude toward consumer lending and credit. But the presence of both does suggest that any policy that emerges could be more moderate than might otherwise seem.
Photo by Element5 Digital from Pexels