On 28 April 2021-the eve of his hundredth day in office-President Joe Biden addressed a joint session of the US Congress for the very first time. Kamala Harris, America’s first woman vice-president, and Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, sat behind him on the podium as Biden spoke before two hundred masked and socially-distanced Representatives and Senators for one hour and five minutes. His upbeat and visionary speech, although not a masterpiece of oratory, nevertheless had a refreshing and reconciliatory tone, in which he repeatedly called for Americans to move forward as one, casting their past divisions to one side.
Observing that America was ” on the move again”, Biden took great pride in his nation’s impressive vaccination infrastructure, hurriedly set up in support of his top priority to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. This great “logistical achievement” has already mobilised around 40,000 pharmacies and over 700 community health centres in the vaccine effort, thereby ensuring that 90 per cent of all Americans can be vaccinated within five miles of their doorsteps. The system has indeed massively out-performed its original targets. In place of the 100 million vaccine shots promised during his first hundred days in office, over 220 million vaccines have already been administered, while 70 per cent of over 65s have been fully vaccinated.
Biden then turned to his plans for economic recovery, boosted by IMF forecasts of a 6 per cent rate of growth in 2021. More than 1.3 million new jobs were created during the first hundred days, more than under any other US President. The $1.9 trillion comprehensive rescue package of the American Rescue Plan Act 2021 was signed into law on 11 March and has since delivered relief cheques of $1,400 each to 85 per cent of America’s households to help tide recipients through their short-term financial woes. This was followed by Biden’s “Build Back Better” proposals of the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. The Jobs Plan is based upon a $2 trillion investment over eight years in both transportation infrastructure (roads, transit systems, bridges, ports, airports) and in “at-home” infrastructure (water supply; broadband access). The Families Plan, on the other hand supports “human infrastructure” through investment in childcare, paid leave, education (public schools, community colleges), and healthcare.
In his speech, Biden outlined his vision for affordable childcare and healthcare, the high costs of which can seriously impact the financial welfare of low-income American citizens. Through his government’s actions, an additional 800,000 Americans have been enrolled in the Affordable Care Act. Low-income families can now access high-quality child care at reduced or no cost, while expanded childcare tax credits are helping fulfil his pledge to cut child poverty by half this year. Biden especially condemned the high cost of prescription drugs-the highest in the world-and stated that “healthcare is a right not a privilege”, which you should take for granted in a prosperous liberal democracy and not have to be reminded of.
Rejecting “trickle-down” economics, whereby the wealthy supposedly plough their gains from low taxes back into the economy to give it a boost, Biden pointed out that the “big tax cuts” of 2017 had actually added $2 trillion to the national deficit. He instead proposed a fair and equitable redistribution of wealth, saying that corporations also stood to benefit from an upgraded public infrastructure. While promising no additional taxes on those earning up to $400,000 a year, he targeted corporations and the wealthiest top 1 per cent with his progressive taxation regime. Observing that 55 of America’s biggest corporations paid no Federal taxes in 2020, while making in excess of $40 billion in profits, he proposed a return to corporation tax of 39.6 per cent, as under President George W. Bush. Biden also promised to get rid of a capital gains tax loophole benefiting those earning over $1 million a year.
Having outlined his New Deal for America, Biden then turned to matters of foreign policy. He stressed the importance of international collaboration in dealing with climate change, mass migration, terrorism, and cybersecurity, not to mention the current pandemic. While seeking cooperation, he restated American opposition to certain undesirable activities, including Chinese unfair trade practices and alleged theft of intellectual property, Russian electoral interference and cyberattacks, and the nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea. Biden did not neglect global security either, both supporting NATO and committing to a continued strong military presence in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Returning to the domestic arena, Biden promised to tackle systemic racism, domestic terrorism, including white supremacism, and the gun violence epidemic, while emphasising the need for immigration reform. He said it was important to tackle the root causes of mass migration out of Central America through diplomacy rather than by building walls alone. He promised action on violence against women and on racially motivated hate crimes, and declared his support for equal rights for LGBTQ people and his protection for “Dreamers”, young people who arrived without legal residence documents but have since made a life for themselves in America.
Biden’s speech was a welcome departure from recent angry, venomous and divisive Presidential rhetoric and seemed a genuine attempt at reaching out to all sections of the American public. Increased government spending, balanced by progressive taxation to avert unmanageable inflation, seems the best remedy for the American economy as it stands. Biden appears to be following the path taken by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his efforts to lift America out of the Great Depression of the 1930s. His calls for unity are particularly relevant in a fragile and increasingly divided world, where the middle path has been abandoned by so many.
Ashis Banerjee