Evoking the spirit of FDR

When a country is in shambles, good leadership is a necessity. It needs a leader that understands the situation and will take initiative to solve these problems. It needs a leader like FDR, a president who came to office while the country was going through unprecedented hardships. A president who found a way to correct the errors that brought them to that point and made America what it is today. 

Almost a century later and a pandemic has brought the country back onto its knees. With 400,000 deaths and millions of jobs lost, our country is struggling. Biden’s campaign was policy heavy, and to deliver on all his main promises would be a feat. Biden’s plan includes addressing the climate crisis, walking back Trump’s immigration policies, education, healthcare, and handling the pandemic- economically and otherwise. In summary, he has a lot to take care of. 

His initiative was shown on the first day, with the 17 executive orders he signed. Some of the things he did with these executive orders included freezing student loan collections until September 30, reversing the muslim ban, setting up a White House Covid-19 response team, rejoining the WHO (World Health Organization) and the Paris climate accords, and making it a requirement to wear masks on federal property. This made it clear that he is going to be a president that will take action.

But the problem many have is the ease with which Biden executed these executive orders. If Biden could backtrack Trump’s executive orders, won’t the next man change Biden’s? These executive orders must become congressional policies in order to be truly effective in the long run. But unlike Trump, Biden and the majority of Congress are of the same party. Even if the majority is narrow, it is a majority, making it easier for the democratic policies that Biden advocated for to be implemented. And on top of that, Biden has been in politics since the 70s; his connections in politics span far and wide. He’s a veteran in politics, and has experience finding his way around his obstacles to reach his goal. 

Pandemic Plans

His goal, at the moment, is to handle the crisis we find ourselves in in a manner that will lead to our country becoming stronger and more unified as a result. With the death count and infection rates growing, we need a solution and we need it fast. The majority of his first 100 days will be spent trying to get the pandemic under control. 

“With Biden, he has a set plan of what we’re gonna do, what he wants for schools, what he wants for the people with the vaccinations. The vaccinations came out and more people in the states are getting vaccinated- which is awesome. But I feel like if Trump were to be reelected that wouldn’t have happened” said Angelina Gonzalez, a junior. 

The vaccine rollout will cost $20 billion and will reach from the federal level all the way down to the local offices, a contrast to Trump’s plan to just get the vaccines to the states and let them handle the rest. The Biden administration is also making sure that they distribute vaccines equitably so that the areas that need it most aren’t undersupplied. In addition to getting the vaccine to high-risk individuals, they are also working to get the vaccine to working Americans. Biden has appointed a whole new Covid-19 response team in order to effectively handle the situation.

In addition to the containment of the pandemic, Biden also has the economy to worry about. Many economists have come to the conclusion that the economy will bounce back once the pandemic dies down. The problem is the hardship the American people are facing right now. So the task at hand is relieving some of the economic pains the pandemic has brought on. Biden has put forward a $1.9 trillion plan that increases the weekly unemployment check from $300 to $400, provides small businesses with $15 billion in grants in order to remedy lost revenue brought on by the pandemic, provides schools with $150 billion to help with safe reopening, and a $1400 stimulus check. The second round of legislation will be centered around job creation.

Racism and Climate

Biden has also decided to confront racism in America. He is the first president to denounce white supremacy in his inaugural address, signaling a change towards being proactively anti-racist. Besides that, there are concrete examples of minority needs being met through policy. The proposed stimulus plan takes cues from the Black Lives Matter Movement, with plans including providing relief for small businesses owned by minorities, funding the expansion of community health centers and assisting communities of color that were hit disproportionately by the pandemic. He is also launching initiatives to expand access to healthcare for women of color as well as criminal justice reform. In addition to racial equity, backtracking the isolationist immigration policies that Trump put forward is also on Biden’s agenda. Like the reversal of the muslim ban and the creation of a task force that will reunite families that were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I hope that Biden undoes a lot of the policies that Trump enacted… based off of the way he treated minority communities,” sophomore Reychel Blocker said.

Climate is a crisis that Biden wishes to address as well. With executive orders that revoked the Keystone Pipeline permit, rejoined the Paris Agreement, and reinstated environmental regulations that Trump rolled back. These regulations were based on methane emissions in oil and gas production. He also plans to mandate federal agencies to buy eco-friendly products, thus driving demand for green products. With the planet moving towards greater climate disaster, this move is necessary.

Biden has set himself apart from many of the presidents of the past. The sheer number of executive orders he has signed are second only to FDR,  a testament to the severity of the situation we are in. The Biden administration has said that this honeymoon phase is an important time to get necessary policies passed. The predicament we have found ourselves in is one that requires finesse to get out of. And for the country to get out of it stronger is an endeavor that is equal parts difficult and honorable. But it has been done before and it can be done again.