What Can We Expect During Biden's Presidency?
It is true, we can officially say “you’re fired” to Donald Trump. Now that this historical election is over, what can we expect next? There’s a sense of hope for this country for the first time in four years. We can rest at ease knowing that our basic human rights are no longer under constant attack. And we can expect to see a solid plan of action to address the pandemic that is ravaging America and the economy which is currently collapsing.
With Joe Biden as our commander-in-chief, there will be significant changes starting this week. He will begin by addressing COVID-19 and establishing extensive economic stimulus legislation. This legislation will reduce the unemployment rate, which continues to soar higher than ever before. The disaster we are facing has shed a light on some intolerable truths that our new president can not ignore. The distinction between the haves and have-nots has never been more obvious and is a result of the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs, businesses, and health care. All the while the one percent remains unaffected by the economic devastation of COVID-19.
The Trump administration notoriously pursued economic policies that favored the wealthy and corporations, leaving working-class citizens to pay the price for his detrimental policies. This was a serious issue before the pandemic. People were already struggling to get by. Many parents were already worried about their children’s financial future. Black, Latino, Native Americans, immigrants, and women were worried about their future. President Biden aims to restructure the economy, addressing the weaknesses and inequalities still in place. This is the time to conceive and create a new American economy for our families and the generations that follow. There’s a vision of a stronger, more vibrant economy where every single American can enjoy equality.
But before he can begin to fix the economy, the Biden administration must address the pandemic. To do this, his administration will listen to science, and ensure that all public health decisions are informed by public health professionals. The goal is to restore trust, transparency, common purpose, and accountability to our government. Along with his Vice President, Kamala Harris, President Biden has come up with a seven-point plan to beat COVID-19. A plan that will help our country find its footing once more. A plan that could potentially save thousands of lives.
The Plan for COVID-19 That You Should Know:
1. Fix the testing-and-tracing debacle we are currently facing.
The president will invest in next-generation testing including at-home and instant tests so that the government can scale up the testing capacity by orders of magnitude.
How Can We Help?
If you have a fever, get a COVID-19 test. Even if you test positive for the virus but don’t develop any other symptoms during quarantine, drink lots of fluids, take Advil or Tylenol, and just stick it out.
Only go to the hospital if you can not control your symptoms. This will help limit exposure, and protect yourself and others.
2. Fix personal protective equipment (PPE) problems.
The goal is to build towards a future by ramping up American-sourced and manufactured capability of masks, face shields, and other PPE so that the national supply exceeds demand and our stores and stockpiles are fully replenished. This way we do not have to be dependent on other countries in a crisis.
How Can We Help?
Invest in reusable masks instead of single-use masks. By using reusable masks we can help the PPE shortage and our environment.
To learn more about the difference between reusable and single-use masks, check out Unmasking The Truth About Single-Use Masks.
3. Provide clear, consistent, and evidence-based national recommendations for how communities should navigate the pandemic and the resources for schools, small businesses, and families.
President Biden views social distancing as a dial. He will direct the CDC to provide specific guidance for how to dial-up or dial-down depending on the level of risk and degree of viral spread in a community. This will also include a renewable fund for state and local governments to help prevent budget shortfalls, which could cause states to face heavy cuts to teachers and first responders.
How Can We Help?
Just abiding by the CDC recommendations for social distancing, we can help keep America and our fellow Americans stay safe.
4. Plan for the effective, equitable distribution of treatments and vaccines.
Invest $25 billion in vaccine manufacturing and distribution plans that will guarantee that all Americans have access to the vaccine, cost-free.
How Can We Help?
By holding the government accountable and making sure that they are doing their absolute best to deal with the pandemic.
5. Protect Older Americans and Others at High Risk.
Establish a COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Task Force, as proposed by the vice president Kamala Harris, to provide recommendations and oversight on discrepancies in the public health and economic response.
This is pivotal in helping all people, but particularly older Americans and others at high risk, understand what degree of precaution to take.
Continue with Obamacare so that the elderly maintain access to Medicare and Medicaid.
How Can We Help?
The elderly of this country have always been overlooked, but we need to have respect for them. Some of them fought for our freedom during World War II. The least we can do to honor the elderly is to act responsibly and take social distancing seriously.
6. Rebuild and expand our defenses that have been dismantled to predict, prevent, and mitigate pandemic threats.
Immediately restore the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, which was instilled by the Obama-Biden Administration and eradicated by the Trump Administration in 2018.
Immediately restore correspondence with the World Health Organization, which is essential in coordinating a global response during a pandemic.
7. Implement mask mandates across the nation by working with governors and mayors and by asking the American people to do what’s right and consider the health of all the people in this country.
Experts say that if 95% of Americans wear masks between now and December, approximately 70,000 souls could be saved.
How Can We Help?
WEAR A MASK!
The Plan for the Economy You Should Know:
During this time of crisis, President Bidden has created a plan that will give American families the tools, choices, and freedom they need to rebuild their lives. The plan will deploy the American people in service of four bold, national efforts to address four critical challenges.
Mobilize American manufacturing and innovation to ensure that the future is made in America.
It is of the utmost importance to bring home critical supply chains so that we are no longer dependent on other countries for future crises.
Mobilize American ingenuity to build modern infrastructure and an equitable, clean energy future.
Having a resilient economy for the long-term means investing in modern, sustainable infrastructure and engines of growth-- from roads and bridges to energy grids and schools, to universal broadband.
Mobilize across the board to advance racial equity in America.
The president is committed to closing the racial wealth gap, expanding affordable housing, investing in minority businesses and communities, advancing policing and criminal justice reform, and making educational opportunities available to all.
Climate Change:
Biden intends to move forward on climate change and rejoining the Paris Agreement.
How Can We Help?
Follow the three “R’s”: reduce, reuse, and recycle to conserve natural resources and landfill space.
Further your education on the subject so that you can help others understand the dire situation we are in. Everyone should be aware of the importance and value of our environment.
Buy less plastic and invest in reusable shopping bags.
Buy sustainable products; sustainability contains three crucial components: environmental conservation, social responsibility, and economic development.
By buying smart we can meet our needs without compromising the well-being of future generations.
Aside from addressing these critical issues immediately, there are other serious issues such as police brutality, Black Lives Matter, and gaining the respect of Trump supporters. Many people voted for Trump because they believe that supporting him is a way of expressing their belief that Democrats and progressives do not care about, or understand, the majority of middle America. And Trump has done absolutely nothing during his time in office to bridge the ever-growing gap between red and blue.
President Biden has the potential to stop the extreme partisanship. But to do this he must put America before the Democratic party. He needs to be willing to work with Republicans and say no to members of his party and appease Republicans. Biden has proven he is capable of doing this from his impressive history of bipartisanship in the Senate. Though it will be an exceedingly difficult task to overcome given our country’s antiquated philosophy of “we won, you lost, so move on.” But if President Biden could begin this grueling work, there is hope that we can reunite our country.
