The last four years under the Trump administration have been undeniably messy in more ways than one. Only a morbid degree of ignorance could blind you from that notion, I feel. With the 2020 presidential election wrapped, Joe Biden has been elected to succeed Donald Trump as the 46th president of the United States.

For countless citizens, democrat and republican alike, Biden’s incontestable victory is reason enough to breathe a sigh of overwhelming relief. Among these people, many are perceivably enthusiastic about the President-elect’s incoming administration, while some remain cautiously optimistic about the future of this nation’s politics given just how many hurdles we have yet to jump. The general consensus among progressives seems to be that despite the work to be done, Biden’s victory is unequivocally a step in the right direction. 

Not all among American citizens feel this way, however, and this should come as no surprise. Over 73 million people voted for Donald Trump after all. The guy has a mountainous amount of support, and the number of people in his camp has only grown since his presidential victory in 2016.

If you’ve been keeping up, this is only further evidenced by the “Million MAGA March” (which actually only consisted of a few thousand people, clashing with headlines fronted by conservative news sites and republican pundits) which assembled this past weekend in Washington DC.

Needless to say, Biden has a vast number of naysayers, and plenty more are skeptical of his views and proposals in regards to major issues.

Problem is, a lot of these folks don’t actually know what Biden’s proposals look like, or what he’s spent the last year and a half campaigning on. Whether the ignorance to his policies is deliberate or not, for many people that ignorance is being further propagated by the latest slew of red herrings and disinformation regarding Biden’s plans as president. There are (often conflicting) reports of this nature being cultivated by all different sides of conservative media, from moderate to radical, and its outreach is only getting stronger as inauguration day approaches. And as the Trump campaign continues to undermine the integrity of American democracy and attempts to dismantle the democratic process, the need for concrete facts about the intentions of our next president is more important than ever before.

So let’s not beat around the bush any longer. Where does Joe Biden stand on key issues in America, and what does he plan to do in his first term as president?

COVID-19

The mission to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic has been perhaps the most prevalent aspect of Biden’s campaign, and certainly the most relevant, so we’ll start here. Biden has made it very clear that he will put science first, and heed scientists recommendations when it comes to controlling the outbreak. Somehow, the Trump administration has managed to make undermining science in favor of politics a reasonable solution for combating a deadly infectious disease, so it’s been up to Biden to put front and center that his handling of the situation would not play out this way.

Biden wants to expand testing, specifically by making it free for all and establishing at least 10 testing centers in every state. To go along with this, he also wants invest in more personal protective equipment for frontline workers, so they can do their jobs more effectively. He also seeks to expand contact tracing programs to help mitigate the spread of the disease.

Most importantly, Biden wants to work with governors to impose mask mandates for as long as is necessary. This has been made pretty evident to be the simplest, and yet seemingly most efficient way to curb the spread of the virus.

Healthcare

Biden’s objective when it comes to healthcare involves expanding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and creating a public option that will ensure an estimated 97% of Americans. He unfortunately does not support Medicare for all, which is a proposal for a universal, single-payer option that is advocated by progressives. He does, however, support lowering the age of eligibility for medicare down from 65 to 60.

Biden’s healthcare plan also involves lowering drug prices by way of allowing medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies. This will be a monumental step in making sure more Americans can afford the drugs they need to survive.

Climate Change

Biden’s plan to combat the looming threat of climate change involves first re-joining the Paris Climate Accord, an agreement Donald Trump withdrew the country from. In terms of his goals, without getting into specifics, just know the following:

• He wants to eliminate emissions from the power sector by 2035.
• He wants the US to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
• Create jobs in manufacturing “green energy” products (Which coincides with his plan to recover the economy).
• Invest heavily in green technology research.
• End the permitting of new fracking on federal land. This is contrary to imposing a national ban on fracking, which Donald Trump repeatedly and falsely accuses him of proposing.
• Generally transition away from the oil industry.

While Biden’s climate plan is certainly imperfect (He does not support the green new deal for example), it is an excellent framework to lower emissions in the US and start moving towards green energy, both of which are crucial in stopping climate change.

Racial and Criminal Injustice

Biden sees the issue of racial injustice and inequality as a very serious issue, and has plans to tackle racism and inequity in the modern age. Biden plans to push a $30 billion investment fund for business support in minority and poverty-stricken communities. He wants to reduce incarceration and rehabilitate prisoners, as well as address racial disparities in the justice system. On the topic of criminal justice reform, he also proposes some pretty progressive changes like ending mandatory minimum sentences and decriminalizing marijuana.

He also calls for more accountability and transparency from police, which is especially significant when you consider the many protests against racial injustice at the hands of police that have become prominent across the country.

Jobs and The Economy

Biden’s economic recovery plan is very comprehensive, and it ties into other aspects of his campaign like racial injustice and climate change. Biden supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, which is important since the current minimum wage ($7.25) is not a livable wage when compared to the ever increasing cost of living. This will, in turn, encourage more Americans to work with the assurance of knowing that no matter which job they land, they will be able to secure basic necessities and have decent living standards.

He proposes $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for federal loans, which will alleviate some of the overwhelming student debt that controls the lives of many young Americans. He also wants to expand tuition-free colleges so that more Americans can have access to higher education as it becomes more necessary in the current job market.

As previously mentioned, he also wants to invest in creating more jobs in producing and researching green technologies. Electric vehicles are an excellent example of such an industry.

Biden’s plan to discourage American companies from moving jobs overseas will involve a proposed “offshoring penalty surtax” that would apply to “profits of any production by a United States company overseas for sale back to the United States.”

Taxes

Biden wants to roll back Trump-era tax cuts that cut taxes for corporations and the 1%, in addition to increasing the corporate tax rate so that large corporations and billionaires pay their fair share, allowing for drastic reinvestment in American communities and other sectors of public interest. He has no interest nor plans to raise the taxes of anybody making less than $400,000 a year; his plan primarily focuses on, again, making large companies and magnates pay their fair share, leading to an estimated $3.4 trillion increase in tax revenue over a decade.

How does all of this effect you?

The COVID pandemic has practically taken over our lives, forcing us to fundamentally alter our way of living and keep us distanced from those we consider close. The current American healthcare system leaves 44 million Americans uninsured and over 38 million more with inadequate healthcare to make a total of over 82 million underinsured Americans; 1/4 of the entire population. Climate change is a looming issue that threatens the survivability of our very species on this planet. Racial injustice and prejudice is still a sweeping cultural issue in countless places across the country. Some American workers are forced to live off of wages that can’t even keep them fed. Americans die every month because they have to choose between putting food on the table or acquiring the medicine they need to survive. More Americans are unemployed now than since the Great Depression. Billionaires and large corporations continue to drive up revenue to absurd numbers with inequitable tax loopholes and lack of proper regulation.

The Biden administration has a plan to, at the very least, remedy each and every one of these monumental issues. If that isn’t a indicative promising future, I don’t know what is.

Conclusion

Joe Biden will be far from a perfect president. He’s far from a perfect politician. He nor his administration have all the answers.

What they do have, however, are promising ideas, empathy, and resolve. Our country faces numerous simultaneous crises, the number of which has only grown in the past four years as our current leadership continues to fail us and divide us culturally, socially, and morally.

The next four years will, hopefully, be a glimmer of hope in the eyes of many. I have no doubt Joe Biden will be a flawed president, but I do think his victory should be reason enough for people to have that hope at all.