Editor’s note: The opinions stated in the article are the belief of the author alone, and do not reflect the beliefs of The Patriot and its staff or Washington Township High School.

For many, the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the nation’s highest offices mean the end of times of persecution, despair, confusion, and hopelessness.

November 7^th, 2020 marks the repudiation of Donald Trump and his administration.

January 20^th will mark a transition of power that can provide a relief to many Americans.

With goals of implementing change to foster a stronger and more united country, Biden has promised to clearly contrast the practices of the previous administration.

“I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify, who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States,” Biden said during his victory speech on the night of November 7.

The purpose of this piece is to provide information regarding Biden’s plan on major issues that I and many others feel are the most important political topics of 2020.

Information is based on content available at joebiden.com.

The Economy

“Build back better: jobs and economic recovery for working families,” Biden’s plan relies on his belief that “there is no greater economic engine in the world than the hard work and ingenuity of the American people.” His plan believes a change from the systematic, capitalist control is needed, implementing a system that provides working people with equal pay through a higher minimum wage, higher taxes on those who make more than $400,000 and not on the poor, as well as a number of other plans to provide for everyone, not just the top 1%.

“In this time of crisis, Joe Biden has a plan to create millions of good-paying jobs and to give America’s working families the tools, choices, and freedom they need to build back better,” the website states. Biden’s major economic beliefs are providing state, local and tribal governments with the aid they need so educators, firefighters and other essential workers aren’t laid off; extend COVID crisis unemployment insurance to help those who are out of work; to provide a comeback package for Main Street businesses and entrepreneurs.

Biden’s economic plan also has a focus on mobilizing four bold, national efforts to address four challenges: “manufacturing and innovation; modern infrastructure and an equitable clean energy future; building a 21st century caregiving and education workforce; and advancing racial equity.”

Most importantly, Biden wants to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour to end the tipped minimum wage and sub-minimum wage for those with disabilities. He plans on passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act that has a goal of making things easier for workers to join unions.

With goals of bringing economic equality to minority communities, Biden and Harris plan on implementing new economic and tax strategies to increase the taxes paid by the wealthy portion of the nation and provide more opportunities for communities of color in the economic spectrum.

With an economy in shambles (a nation with 4.7 million jobs and counting lost since Trump took office in 2016 and an unemployment rate well over 8 percent (CNN Business)), due in part to an incompetent administrative response to the global pandemic over the past few months (top economist Mark Zandi is very critical of Trump’s handling of the economy during his time in office. Zandi believes that the diminished economy from Trump’s response to the pandemic will leave the United States in a disconnect from the rest of the world economically(CNBC)), Biden has the opportunity to fix the course that the economy has been heading (a direction where entire communities have to stand in food lines, rely on a stimulus check because their jobs have been lost or people having to decide if rent or food is more important for their family).

Racial Equality

Biden provides a clear list of what his administration hopes to change in regards to racial injustice. Included in his plan are the following:

• Spur public-private investment through a new small business opportunity plan.
• Reform opportunity zones to fulfill their promise.
• Make a historic commitment to equalizing federal procurement.
• Ensure his housing plan makes bold investments in homeownership and access to affordable housing for black, brown, and native families.
• Achieve equity in management, training and higher education opportunities connected to the jobs of the future.
• Boost retirement security and financial wealth for black, brown and native families.
• Ensure workers of color are compensated fairly and treated with dignity.
• Ensure equity in Biden’s bold infrastructure and clean energy investments.
• Support second chances for economic success.
• Strengthen the Federal Reserve’s focus on racial economic gaps.
• Promote diversity and accountability in leadership across key positions in all federal agencies.
• Build a 21^stcentury care infrastructure and address longstanding inequalities in agriculture.

Given the opportunity to implement systemic change for racial justice, the Biden team can use these initiatives to bring change to a nation stricken with systematic inequality.

Climate Change

With the Biden administration promising millions of new jobs through a sustainable economy that plans on being net-zero in emissions by 2050 (too late if you ask me), Biden plans on changing the course that the Trump administration has seemingly been uninterested in (for example: taking the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord and destroying the efforts of the Obama Clean Power Plan that was designed to cut U.S. emissions of carbon.)

With a former administration that had climate change at the bottom of its list, Biden should be able to cash in his ticket with climate-driven supporters.

Biden’s mission statement on climate initiatives includes a national effort aimed at creating the jobs to build a modern, sustainable infrastructure now and deliver an equitable clean energy future. This would be done through a $2 trillion accelerated investment, with a plan to deploy those resources over his first term and setting us on an irreversible course to meet the ambitious climate progress that science demands.

The Biden Plan goes through changes in infrastructure, auto industries, transit, the power sector, buildings, housing, innovation, agriculture and conservation and environmental justice – all with a heavy focus on reusable solar, wind and other powers to help develop an infrastructure that will better the nation and the world.

Climate change is an existential threat to humanity and the most fundamentally important issue at hand, and the Biden Plan is decent. I believe in the Green New Deal, but the Biden Plan is a compromise Senate Republicans will most likely agree with over the Green New Deal, leading to a start of our nation being on the forefront of climate change efforts worldwide. As a leading global force, the United States has a civic duty to lead the world in climate efforts.

Health care

With promises to build on the Affordable Care Act and provide better, cheaper health care to the American people, Biden has created the Biden Plan.

Biden has a plan of protecting the Affordable Care Act and building on it to give Americans the choice of health care, along with reducing costs and making the system easier to use. It includes giving every American access to affordable health insurance, giving Americans a choice for public health insurance options such as Medicare and increasing the value of tax credits to lower premiums and extend coverage.

He also wants to expand coverage to low-income families, provide all Americans with affordable options, give middle-class families a premium tax credit to help with coverage, provide calculated tax credits to help families afford lower deductibles, eliminate surprise billing, limit big pharmaceutical prices on medicines, lower the cost of healthcare, and stand up to the abuse of the industry by the rich.

It’s my belief that health care is a human right, not a privilege, and the Biden Plan provides a step in the right direction.

The Biden website and plan offer a number of resources on the President-elect’s goals and ambitions to change this country for the better. I urge you to educate yourself on the President-elect’s beliefs and platforms.

Whether you supported the Biden or Trump campaigns, we can all recognize the fact that this nation has gone through peril and distinctive divides. As a nation, we need to come together and fight for a positive future for your family, your friends, the poor, those who receive unequal treatment, and the United States of America as a whole.