The next few months will likely determine the direction of the country for the next four years and perhaps longer.
The new Administration has done much to undo the Trump legacy through a barrage of Executive Orders.
One of those started today with the three-month extension of the opening of the Obamacare/Affordable Care Act Marketplaces.
However, if Democratic and Progressive activists want to change that long term direction for the better, they should give wholehearted support for Bidenomics.
Recent articles in both the New York Times and Washington Post have called attention to the two major economic packages the Biden/Harris Administration is pursuing:
- The aforementioned American Rescue Act that combats COVID 19, provides relief for qualifying Americans and sets the stage for the next plan which is:
- The Build Back Better plan, a form of economic nationalism designed to pull American Industry into the Twenty-First Century and modernize the nation’s infrastructure in a clean energy approach.
Make no mistake. If the Biden/Harris Administration is able to secure passage of both the American Rescue Act and the Build Back Better Plan, the country, after 40 years of being under the dark shadow of the big lie called Reaganomics will finally shift its socioeconomic paradigm to a new, sustainable, and fact-based economic vision that history may call Bidenomics.
This plan already has the support of most of the American People.
In a February 11, 2021 column for the New York Times called “Biden is the Big Spender America Wants.” Nobel Prize Economist Paul Krugman wrote:
“…My sense is that the remarkably strong public consensus in favor of Bidenomics has largely flown under the radar. To be sure, I’m not saying that the surprising unity among voters (but not politicians) on economic policy compensates for the terrifying fact that one of our two major parties no longer accepts the legitimacy of elections it loses. But it’s still important for America’s future.
You might have thought that Democratic plans for a big rescue package, probably close to the $1.9 trillion the Biden administration has proposed, would lead to a Tea Party-style backlash. But a recent CBS News poll found that 79 percent of those surveyed either believe that the package is the right size or think that it’s too small. There are, of course, partisan differences, but even among Republicans, 61 percent support a plan as big as or bigger than the one in the works…”
While the Biden/Harris Economic Proposals may not yield any Republican support in Congress, the new Administration is not having any problems finding it outside of Washington.
According to reporting by Griff Witte of the Washington Post, many Republican Mayors, and Governors, executives of towns, cities, and states that have experienced budget tensions, are on the Biden/Harris Economic Bandwagon. These include:
- West Virginia Governor Jim Justice.
- Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.
- Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer.
- Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (who made the case for the Biden/Harris proposals from the podium of the White House Briefing Room.)
- Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.
The President and Vice President still have not given up hope on bipartisan support or their economic plans, inviting a bipartisan group of Senators and newly confirmed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to discuss legislation to modernize the nation’s infrastructure.
Writing a February 12, 2021 column in the Washington Post, Paul Waldman wrote:
“Could “infrastructure week” be more than just a beautiful dream?”
“…I don’t doubt that unlike during the Trump years, there will be an actual infrastructure bill debated. There will be sincere attempts to have Republicans join in the process. But in the end, it will probably get little or no Republican support, which would mean it would have to be the second, and last, reconciliation bill of 2021.
If that’s the case, Democrats had better not waste the opportunity.”
Waldman is right.
Time is of the essence and the Biden/Harris Administration and their allies need to focus “like a laser beam” on enacting these two pieces of important economic legislation (which should include an increase in the minimum wage) that will move the country forward.
Afterward, when the pandemic dangers subside, the economy rebounds, and millions of new jobs are created, the Biden/Harris Administration will be in a stronger position to enact their other vital proposals like enhancing voter rights, education reform, and further promoting clean energy.
Support Bidenomics.
The country and the American People will be better if you do.