Once upon a time, failed presidential candidates slunk away, embarrassed by their inability to get American voters to buy the product they were selling.  That's no longer true for Democrats.  We routinely hear from political has-beens promoting their bankrupt ideas.  And that gets me to Elizabeth Warren,* who's in the New York Times announcing that she has another plan, this one to help the economy.  As always, her plan boils down to two words: Big Government.

Before getting to the substance, it's noteworthy that Warren immediately brings race into things: "Early data shows people of color are infected and dying at disproportionately high rates."  Her plan has nothing to do with race.  She just threw that line in there because...social justice warrior.

Warren begins by saying she'll increase testing as if Trump hasn't already done this.  It's noteworthy that he accomplished this primarily by getting rid of government regulations hindering test development.

Warren also wants to turn the government into a manufacturer:

[W]e must act now to have the government manufacture or contract for the manufacture of critical supplies when markets fail to do so — to produce tests, personal protective equipment, drugs in shortage and any future vaccines and treatments that our scientists develop — not in the thousands, but in the tens of millions. This will ensure swift production and build a stopgap against shortfalls moving forward. 

What in the world is Warren talking about when she says she wants the government to manufacture supplies?  Is the government going to build factories, buy factories, or nationalize factories?

Also, does Warren seriously believe that the government can do anything swiftly?  Trump's WWII-style partnership with the private sector has produced extraordinary speed because only the free market can respond quickly.  Government never has done so and never will do so.

Warren also seems to have nationalization in mind when she says she's going to suspend all consumer debt collection, place a national moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, stop water and utility shutoffs, cancel student debt, and fund child care.  Except for canceling student debt, those are lovely ideas in the abstract.  (Regarding student debt, if a student was stupid enough to get deep in debt for an English or Gender Studies degree, don't put that on the taxpayer.)

Warren ignores that people work for those companies that fund consumer debt, for landlords who owe mortgages and utilities, and for utility companies that have employees.  Having the government stomp on credit card companies, landlords, and utility companies will only throw a whole new batch of people into unemployment.

But what Warren hates most is "Big Business."  She ignores that, so far, Big Business has been doing an excellent job of adapting to the changing landscape and protecting its workers.  For example, Lowe's, Home Depot, and Walmart have increased either salaries or benefits for their employees and implemented safety standards in their stores to protect both customers and employees.

Warren, however, thinks only the government can take care of employees, saying nastily that workers "can't rely on big business to protect them."  She wants taxpayers to cough up paid family and medical leave, increased OSHA oversight and regulations, and more collective bargaining.  Government, government, government, and unions.  That's Warren, all right.

Warren's hostility to business is staggering.  Just two paragraphs later, she's on the attack again:

To make sure people already struggling with their costs of living aren't being squeezed by companies out to make a quick buck in a crisis, we need new federal price-gouging laws and stricter enforcement. And we need to ensure that small businesses that want to come back can do so without being forced to sell to giant corporations or predatory private equity funds. That means hitting pause on exploitative corporate takeovers and private equity activity that might help the rich get even richer, but won't help our economy recover.

And of course, there's the inevitable demand for mail-in voting and other Democrat ideas such as ballot-harvesting.  These ideas all ensure that people who can't be bothered to get out and vote can have someone else vote for them.

When Warren flamed out, America dodged a bullet.  She's as hard left as Bernie, but her XX chromosomes, along with a manner that's less abrasive than Hillary's, might have powered her into the White House.  Once there, Warren would have been every bit as power-hungry as Bernie, sharing his disregard for the Constitution and reverence for top-down Big Government, and limited or no individual rights.

(If you want to read a dynamite analysis of Sanders's and Warren's selfish socialism, I recommend Daniel Greenfield's splendid "Bernie's Defeat Shows Why Socialism Doesn't Work.")

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*And yes, I know Warren still sits in the Senate, but the fact that she couldn't even win the primary in her home state of Massachusetts means she's an also-ran who no longer needs to be taken seriously.