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The State of the Union and Retail

President Biden gave his State of the Union address Feb. 7, in the long tradition of presidents since George Washington gave the first one in 1790. Since the economy is an unavoidable topic for any examination such as this, what issues were discussed that affect retailers?

Biden touted the 12 million jobs created since he took office two years ago, when the economy was "reeling" after "COVID had shut down our business, closed our schools and robbed us of so much."

He also addressed the many jobs which have moved overseas and factory shut downs. "For decades, the middle class was hollowed out," he said. He went on to pledge "to make sure the economy works for everyone so we can all fell pride in what we do."

He also highlighted "inflation has fallen every month for the last six months."

What issues in the president's State of the Union Address affect retailers?

Before the president's State of the Union speech was delivered, the National Retail Federation (NFR) wrote a letter to the president outlining the organization's priorities. A synopsis of those priorities was included in a blog post last month.

Priorities

Topping the list was the passage of the Credit Card Competition Act, introduced during the last Congress. The measure "would require credit cards issued by the nation's largest banks to be able to route transactions over at least two unaffiliated networks." This would promote competition and potentially save retailers and consumers $11 billion in swipe fees, which are usually retailers' second highest operating cost after labor.

Also emphasized is continuing the fight against organized retail crime. Included in the year-end omnibus spending package was the INFORM Consumers Act, which "will require online marketplaces to verify the identities of high-volume third-party sellers." In addition, NRF is suppoting the Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act, which has multiple signatories from both side of the aisle. This bill would increase coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and retail industry experts. It also envisions the creation of new tools to assist federal investigations recover lost goods and proceeds.

Other concerns of the NRF which would need to be addressed legislatively include the DACA program, to protect "Dreamers" who were born in the US or brought as children by parents who are in the country ilegally. Legalizing these immigrans would swell the potential workforce.

Finally, the organization is addressing the threat of meritless lawsuits by trial lawyers for alleged compliance violations.

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