Following the failure of the Democrats to drag Joe Biden’s socialist spending boondoggle known as Build Back Better across the finish line, the administration is turning to the old Obama-era playbook — using the “fourth branch of government,” the administrative state, to force desired changes via regulation.

We have previously noted that in Biden’s first year, he outpaced Barack Obama in total cost of new regulations created. Well, it appears that Biden’s red tape dispenser has only just warmed up, as his administration is preparing for yet another year of massive regulatory push.

“There’s growing concern within the business community that there has been a rush to regulate without fully factoring in the negative effects on industry and the economy,” Washington-based strategist Ken Spain warns. “With the election year upon us and the administration’s agenda stalling, the pace is expected to accelerate.”

But it’s not just businesses that should be concerned. Regulations are Washington’s hidden tax, raising the cost of living for everyone, and that tax is about to get even higher. That’s why Spain’s observation about the election year is key. Democrats who have essentially fallen on their faces in Congress are counting on Biden’s regulatory commission to accomplish some of their agenda items prior to the election, seeing the administrative state as the best means of achieving something they can tout to their constituents. The Leftmedia will help them sell it without explaining how much it’s going to cost American voters.

Many of the regulatory goals are focused on restoring Obama-era rules that Donald Trump ended. Trump famously and very successfully applied his “one in, two out” deregulation policy, which went a long way toward unshackling the economy while saving the American people billions of dollars. Unfortunately, now the reverse is true, which serves to expose the inherent weakness of executive orders and bureaucratic changes that can be undone with the stroke of a pen by the next White House occupant.

The financial sector has been squarely in Biden’s crosshairs as of late, demonstrated by his administration’s desire to regulate cryptocurrencies. Biden’s Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has also proposed a rule that would require companies to disclose data on their greenhouse gas emissions and how climate change is impacting their business.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports: “Federal workplace regulators are working on new safety regulations for healthcare workers to protect them from Covid-19. Union leaders from the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have been lobbying the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to create such rules.” And the administration is lobbying to create more union members. See how this works?

Other agencies preparing a litany of new rules include the Agriculture Department, with new proposals targeting meat-packing plants, the Federal Trade Commission, and, of course, the EPA, which is preparing new rules targeting coal-fired power plants.

Rules, Rules, and More Rules — that could easily be Team Biden’s motto. Growing the regulatory state is the goal because that gives more power to the central planners in Washington. Meanwhile, more and more of Americans’ individual liberty is eroded away.