The next President of the United States, Joe Biden, has offered more concrete policy plans to make life better for all Americans this month than Donald Trump has penned in the last three and a half years. Last week, we got his plan for safely reopening schools amidst coronavirus and his plan to create millions of jobs by fighting climate change. Yesterday he added a $775-billion plan to support child- and elder-care:
The proposal, which Biden outlined in a speech Tuesday afternoon, would emphasize tax credits and state funding subsidies to make child care more affordable and accessible, and make prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds universal.
A Biden administration would also push to increase pay for child care providers through new state-level standards and federal minimum wage laws and would aim to speed the construction of new and upgraded child care facilities through tax breaks.
…Of its total 10-year cost, Biden’s plan would spend more than $400 billion on caregiving for older Americans. It would devote much of that funding to lowering Medicaid waitlist times for home and community care services. It would also provide tax breaks to people who care for older family members themselves.
A senior official on the Biden campaign says most of the cost for the plan would come from limiting tax loopholes and exemptions for real estate investors [Scot Detrow, “U.S. Faces ‘A Child Care Emergency,’ Biden Says in Unveiling $775 Billion Plan,” NPR, 2020.07.21].
Like so much of what Biden does in public life, this plan arises from the empathy he learned amidst his own suffering:
On Tuesday, Biden leaned on his own experience, talking about caring for his two young sons as a single father after his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash just as he was beginning his first term in the U.S. Senate.
“It was hard,” he said. “If I didn’t have my mom, my sister, my brother, I don’t know how I would have been able to afford it.”
Biden also told the crowd about taking care of his mom and dad when they were in hospice, and his son, Beau, who died from brain cancer [Detrow, 2020.07.21].
Biden smartly frames his plan as an effort to help Americans who are already doing all they can in hard times while their current lounging leader ignores their needs:
The pandemic hits and squeezes and tightens on everybody. Nursing homes have been hit hard. If you’re a frontline worker, you struggle to find safe childcare for your kids. Others of you have become unexpected 24/7 caregivers trying to keep your children safe and learning while you continue to work remotely from home.
If you had to put your career on hold indefinitely, or seen your hours cut, or your job lost, the confusion, the confusion over school reopening only makes things worse. In the last few months has only underscored how vital it is for families and older Americans to have more home care and community care choices that fit their real needs. We’re trapped in a caregiving crisis within an economic crisis, within a healthcare crisis. You’re doing everything you can, but this president is not [Vice-President Joe Biden, speech on Child and Elder Care Plan, transcribed by Rev, 2020.07.21].
Biden cares; Trump doesn’t. Elect a President who cares enough to do his job.
Mary Trump writes that when his brother Fred was in the hospital dying, trump and ivana went to the movies.
The man is a sociopath.
It is not enough. We are on the verge of an economic collapse. Biden needs to do more than offer tax credits. Check out what Biden told his Wall Street donors recently …
https://sirota.substack.com/p/biden-just-made-a-big-promise-to
If Biden fails to match this moment (like Clinton in 1993 and Obama in 2009), then we are headed toward full-on-fascism.
Wall Street Criminals are wired to exploit everything and everyone. They like Biden because they know he will not fundamentally change anything.
Biden is a tool for the kinder, gentler, billionaire class …
https://www.salon.com/2019/06/19/joe-biden-to-rich-donors-nothing-would-fundamentally-change-if-hes-elected/
We need to hold his feet to the fire and demand better. Here is a starter list of policies Biden must stand for:
Health Care For All
Education For All
Student Debt Cancellation
Reparations
Restoration of Treaty Promises
Wealth Tax
Military Budget Cut
Jason, check the date on your story. A lot has changed in the last year. You are so correct though on what Biden must stand for. That’s why real cowboys will be ridin for Biden.
We’ll got a lot more done by holding Joe BIden’s feet to the fire for the four years of his Presidency than we will for three months of a campaign.
We American citizens and immigrants must continue to take to the streets for as long as necessary, until the USA is the humanitarian nation that serves us all. IOW, until it’s true that “All Lives Matter.”
We have a chance of getting there with Democratic nominee Biden, none at all with Death Dealing Donny.
Jason, what do you feel you are accomplishing by attacking Biden at this time?
If we hold trump’s feet to the fire, all we get will be singed bone spurs.
The devil likes to have it’s feet to the fire, kinda like wrestling with a pig in the mud.
trump virus and another 1.4 million of us out of work..winning! trump is like Calvin Coolidge “When people are out of work,” Calvin Coolidge is supposed to have said, “unemployment results.” Not only are they out of work, the business they worked at is shuttered.
“The rise in weekly jobless claims to 1.4 million underscores the outsize role the unemployment insurance system is playing among the nation’s safety net programs — just when a $600 weekly federal aid payment for the jobless is set to expire at the end of this week.
All told, the Labor Department said Thursday that roughly 32 million people are receiving unemployment benefits, though that figure could include double-counting by some states. Some economists say the figure is likely closer to 25 million.”
There will be millions of Americans out on the street, homeless, thanks to the trump virus.
Debbo, I do not want a repeat of history. The last two times we elected a neoliberal Democrat we received little in return. In fact, the backlash returned Republicans to control of the House in the following midterm.
Clinton failed to enact universal health care during his first term. Despite having control of the House and Senate! He did secure the passage of NAFTA, expand NATO, sign the Crime Bill, end welfare, deregulated the big banks, and so on. Notice how he failed to deliver progressive policy. Yet he did a great job pushing neoliberal economic policies that produced more and more inequality in our country.
Obama failed to enact universal health care as well. He didn’t even try to push for a public option. He met with health care executives and decided to settle for a Heritage Foundation health care plan that enriched the health care industry and allowed pharmaceutical corporations to continue their rapacious business model. Like Clinton, Obama exacerbated inequalities. Obama bailed out the banks instead of the homeowners during the housing crisis. Obama expanded domestic oil drilling and fracking. Obama sold out.
I do not want Biden to follow the trends set by his Democratic predecessors. Basically, I don’t want Biden to act like a Republican. But I think he will. He is surrounded by mostly neoliberal advisors who are wedded to the neoliberal project.
If Biden does not address the structural problems within our economic, health and social systems then he will lose support. The Republicans will rally and offer up another white supremacist. A competent white supremacist could turn this country into a neo-fascist state. We are close to that situation right now. See Portland.
Think republican congress and you get the idea of why Democrats failed to deliver what you say Jason. We must get rid of them all.
Debbo, Jason says:
And that is apparently why it is important to attack, criticize and demean Biden (and apparently Obama, Clinton, and any other Democrat) just before an election – to discourage people from voting for a Democrat who might not do enough to satisfy “progressives” like Jason. I guess discouraging voters from supporting a Democrat that isn’t progressive enough is seen as the correct strategy to avoid a Republican “neo-fascist state?” Go figure.
Jason proposes a future hypothetical harm to supporting and electing Biden. Failing to elect Biden now keeps in place a real, daily demonstrated version of that harm.
Jason, just to be clear, are you saying we will be better off if Trump wins in 2020 instead of Biden? Are you saying that four more years of Trump chaos and dismantling of government will be better than four years of Biden’s policy-making?
Clinton had a Dem congress for 2 years and wingnuts won both in 1994, 2 years after WJC became potus.
Cory:
No, of course not. And you know that. My point is that if Biden fails, then the next Republican president will take us even further to the right.
You have a lot of confidence in Biden’s policy-making ability. But if you take a look at Biden’s record you will find that he has always served the interests of the capitalist class.
Look at his donors. Look at his advisors. That tells you who he will serve and listen to.
Look at his top 3 options for VP. Harris, Demings and Rice are all connected to the National Security Sate apparatus that protects and promotes capitalist interests at home (Harris and Demings) and abroad (Rice). Do you think they will hold the police accountable? Do you think they will end the imperialist wars waged overseas in our name? Harris just voted against a 10% cut to the US military budget!
I can fully agree with a couple of the claims Jason makes. Cory asks.
Jason responds,
In this respect Jason is correct.
Otherwise, Jason’s comments strike me as a either form of Trump supporter gaslighting (see e.g., https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201701/11-warning-signs-gaslighting) or simply useless speculation (i.e. fails to recommend or even identify any meaningful course of action to avoid his dire predictions) in light of our Country’s current dilemma with Trump and his Republican sycophants in power.
I do smell gaslighting, well put bcb and spot on. We need honor in the White House and complete rebukes of those that carry the water for trump. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Mo1lDJrZKx8&feature=emb_title
bcb:
Read the thread. I identified a set of policies that would make a meaningful difference.
We need to hold his feet to the fire and demand better. Here is a starter list of policies Biden must stand for:
Health Care For All
Education For All
Student Debt Cancellation
Reparations
Restoration of Treaty Promises
Wealth Tax
Military Budget Cut
But you evidently didn’t read the thread or maybe you are the one doing the gaslighting?
jerry:
Using a political ad from the Lincoln Project will not solve our systemic problems. The Lincoln Project only covers up the structural issues and gaslights the viewer into believing that Trump is our only problem.
I am asking Biden to do better. Why do you have a problem with that? I am guessing you support all of the policies that I suggest in the above posts. So why do you push back against me asking Biden to do more for the people?
jason, that ad does help solve our systemic problems that are called republican malfeasance. The fish rots from the head.
That new green deal is a big ___ing deal. That will put infrastructure, economy and jobs jobs jobs to bring us out of the hole we’re in. Looks to me like Biden stands for all of the above.
jerry:
Clinton and Trump were friendly with Epstein/Maxwell. Yes, the Republican Party is an existential threat to life on planet earth. But if the Democratic Party does not get to the root of the problem and start delivering meaningful change, then the Republicans will come back into power. It scares me to think what that next Republican wave will look like! Think Tucker Carlson and the Proud Boys from the PNW.
The US was founded on genocide and slavery. It is deeply rooted in our countries’ DNA. We have to dig into our nation’s past and recognize our history. In the process we will uncover the relationship between capitalism and racism. As Fred Hampton said, “racism is a byproduct of capitalism”.
My hope is that we can transition to a social democracy at the end of this movement. But the first step is to study the past and recognize what actually happened. Then we can build up a better set of institutions that serve the interests of humanity instead of the rich and powerful.
https://youtu.be/JwifDZ4KBG8
mfi:
Why did Clinton lose to the Republicans in 1994? Clinton failed to deliver universal health care. He failed to effectively take on the health care insurance industry and its allies.
A similar scenario played out during the first term of Obama’s presidency. However, Obama learned from Clinton’s mistake and capitulated from the start! Obama didn’t even push for a public option. He settled for a Republican health care plan from the 1980’s. Which should not surprise us after listening to this interview:
https://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/video/obama-considered-moderate-republican-1980s-17975222
I like Biden and will vote for him, stick a pin in that and move on.
Jason has lots of ideas and suggestions for Biden and the Democratic party, which he correctly understands are very important to many potential Biden voters, but Jason provides no suggestions for voters themselves. Instead, Jason simply gives his opinion that Biden is a terrible candidate, implying that anyone who might support him is making a mistake. That seems to be consistent with gaslight warning number 3 from the Psychology Today article linked in my earlier comment:
To paraphrase warning number 3:
Likewise, the 5th warning seems to apply to Jason;
Jason says he opposes Trump, but then he only attempts undermine support for Trump’s only viable opponent.
Indeed, Jason’s repeated and consistent attacks on Biden also seem to fall in line with warning number 4:
Other gaslighting techniques described by Psychology Today may also apply to Jason’s comments, such as making misleading statements about Biden’s record, but the above stand out in my mind. I sure could be mistaken, but that is how his comments look to me. Judge for yourself.
Healthcare wasn’t the only issue pushing Dems to defeat in 94. 94 ushered in the era of Newt gingrich dirty tricks such as spreading rumors SOH and longtime Washington state Congressman Foley was secretly gay.
And we had that vast right wing conspiracy funded by Richard Mellon Scaife and Citizen’s United to pay people to make stuff up about both clintons and their friends.
I agree with mfi. It also was around that time that the Gingrich group begin trying to demonize a caring decent public figure – Hillary Rodham Clinton.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/1994-year-changed-everything-hillary-jeb-mtv-ojsimpson-213297
Lawdy, what a link, bcb. Thanks for that. I still think HRC got a real raw deaL And I still loathe each and every Bush and drumpf ever invented.
A new poll of Minnesotans by Faux Noize is full of good news on several fronts. The details are here: is.gd/Texnwx
Biden leads Lying Lunatic 51% – 38%. Bwahahahahaha! He thought he could turn Minnesota red? Pffft! He’s made us bluer than before!
Don’t know if it will make you feel any better, Mike, but we have our own racist Steve Kinger in Minnesota. His district is the southwest. He’s losing corporate donors, yay!
“Western culture” = white patriarchy
is.gd/up0yXU
No one can let up. We must vote as if our very lives depended on it. Polls are just that, nothing really. A 17 point lead in July is like flatulence in the wind. I want to see that at the exit polls at least.
https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2016/06/01/michael-dukakis-remind-stop-overreacting-recent-election-polls
When Trump has not lead in a nationwide poll against Biden for two straight months this is big. Poll naysayers need to calm down. In this day and age, polls can not be this wrong for weeks on end.
Trump’s racism during the Minneapolis riots with his brutal “when the looting starts the shooting starts” set the Biden surge in motion. Never cool to be racist. When the Republican Party can’t say the words “Black Lives Matter” and acknowlege racisim is a problem in the country, that Party has a problem. Words have impact.
(MN ranks number one for having the longest Democrat streak in the nation. MN has not voted Republican in a presidential election since ’72.) :)
Jenny, I agree with you about the polls. We should be able to relax and kick back because we’ve got this one in the bag. We should be able to focus our attention on Congress and state races. But we can’t.
We can’t because the GOP and Pootie are setting up massive election fraud of every kind we’ve ever heard of and new ones they’re just inventing.
These times require one of the most gargantuan landslides ever imagined. These times require an enormous swamping of the GOP boat on every level.
This election is for the sake of our nation. We can draw strength and encouragement from polls, but ….
We. Cannot. Let. Up.