Monday, March 15, 2021

Biden's in the White House: We're going to be Okay

 By Mildred Robertson

There is a Grimm’s Fairy Tale in which a young woman finds a pick axe in the ceiling of her wine cellar. The young woman laments the fact that were she to have a child whom she sent to the cellar to fetch wine, the axe might fall and kill the child. She and her entire family became distraught over the possibility. They simply missed the logic of removing the axe from the ceiling, thereby eliminating the danger.  Despite the numerous successes of the Biden Administration to date, many on both sides of the aisle continue to wait for the fall of the axe.

Biden seems to be of the opinion, it is better to simply pull the pick axe from the ceiling. He has ignored the incessant chatter of the media, and the constant GOP attacks. Rather than engage with either the media or the GOP in divisive political wrangling, Biden and his administration have focused on repairing the broken government he inherited. The Biden administration has begun to systematically shore up those areas weakened by Trump and his undisciplined, unprincipled, ineffective administration.   

Biden has pledged to Americans that “Help is on the Way,” and he has thus far been true to that pledge:

  • President Joe Biden, sworn in on January 20, 2021, has assembled perhaps the most diverse array of cabinet nominees in history. As of March 10th, 16 of his cabinet-level nominees gained approval, despite Republican contentiousness. He lost his nominee for White House Budget, Chief Neera Tandem, based upon some innocuous tweets the GOP claimed to find offensive. Overall, however, his nominations are proceeding well.
  • While the previous administration can be credited with the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, it fell far short of its goal of vaccinating 40 million by the end of December. Under the Biden Administration over 10% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated; averaging about 2 million vaccine doses administered per day. Biden anticipates the epidemic may be under control by July 4th if Americans continue to strictly comply with CDC guidelines.
  • On Thursday, March 11th, President Biden signed a sweeping $1.9-trillion coronavirus relief package into law. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARESAct creates a massive infusion of federal aid aimed primarily at working families. It provides fast and direct economic assistance for American workers, families, and small businesses, and preserves jobs for American industries.
  • The $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund provides assistance for state, local, and tribal governments navigating the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • States are able to extend unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks under the new Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program. PEUC benefits are available for weeks of unemployment beginning after your state implements the new program and ending with weeks of unemployment ending on or before December 31, 2020.
  • The COVID-19 support provides students 50% off the first-year tuition, which could equal approximately $6,000. In other words, a student could study for a full year for less than $6,000 without counting any other scholarships or grants they may be able to access.
  • The Paycheck Protection Program is providing small businesses with the resources they need to maintain their payroll, hire back employees who may have been laid off, and cover applicable overhead.
  • Stimulus checks: The checks will be a maximum of $1,400 per individual, or $2,800 per married couple, plus $1,400 per dependent. Like past direct payments, this third round will be based on income. The income limits for those to receive the maximum amount will remain the same. Individuals who earn up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income, heads of household with up to $112,500, and married couples who file jointly with up to $150,000 will get the full $1,400 per person.

If you view these accomplishments, it is clear that Biden and his team are anything but fatalistic when they anticipate America’s future. Yet challenges still exist.

Still to be addressed are immigration, social justice, voting rights, pay equity and police reform. Every American should be able to walk the streets of America without fear of racial intimidation or violence. Our borders must be secured, but our policies must be humane and just. The minimum wage must be addressed so our workforce can be adequately compensated. Police need support, but the bad cops must be weeded out and discriminatory policing policies must be removed. States across the nation continue to write legislation to impede minority voting, so voting rights require a federal response.

All of these issues are pressing. This administration acknowledges the need for change in all these areas. But Biden is not like the young woman in the wine cellar. He does not just look up at the axe and lament. He has lifted his hand to pull the axe from the ceiling…one crisis at a time. Let’s give him the time and support he needs to remove the axe.

We are going to be okay.