What Joe Biden is expected to do as president
Joe Biden will be the anti-Trump, at least in intention. But besides the stop of the wall with Mexico, the US re-entry into the WHO and an environmental policy worthy of the name, what should we expect from the new president of the United States?
Joe Biden will officially take office as president of the United States on January 20, 2021. However, we already have a fairly clear idea of the policies he intends to adopt. Obviously we will have to wait to see how the health and economic situation will evolve in these months. It will also be necessary to understand whether all the reforms and actions it intends to take will actually be possible. In any case, these are some of the things that are likely to happen during the new Biden administration. Divided by topics.
Covid-19 and health
No one knows for sure what the situation will be like when the Biden administration officially takes office. But certainly pandemic management will be one of the cornerstones on which to act, also because it involves several important areas (we also talked about it on Wired).
Joe Biden publicly and ostentatiously demonstrated his focus on contagion prevention. If Donald Trump has stated that he wants to speed up obtaining a vaccine, Biden's attitude seems to be more pragmatically aimed above all at containing the epidemic.
Support for the search for an anti Covid-19 vaccine will remain a key point, but in the immediate future it will focus on free tests for all. This will first of all involve hiring additional health personnel (an estimated 100,000 people). The program also plans to establish new centers for rapid tests by creating a capillary network and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the tests themselves.
On climate change
Global warming is another area where US actions have very significant global repercussions. Trump's policy has been marked by skepticism if not open hostility towards green measures. The withdrawal from the Paris climate agreements is perhaps the most striking act in this regard.
Joe Biden has announced that he wants to start again from the restoration of the US inclusion in the emission reduction agreement. One of the main goals of the signatories was to reduce greenhouse gases by up to 28%, compared to 2005 levels, by 2025. The purpose of the new US government will be to achieve a zero-emission economy by 2050.
To do this, substantial federal investments are planned: $ 2 trillion over four years to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. It will affect both industries and individuals. An interesting point foreseen in the Green New Deal is also the improvement of the construction of buildings and infrastructures to withstand the increasingly devastating environmental disasters.
In the energy-environmental field, Biden also focuses on nuclear power. It wants to invest in power plant innovation, as opposed to other energy solutions with higher emissions. This would imply a safer waste disposal system. One of the biggest challenges in this area, according to Biden himself.
Work and economy theme
The $ 2 trillion investment in the green economy marks an important direction, but apparently Biden's tendency will also be markedly left towards workers, at least by American standards.
In an economy where work has fewer protections than most of Europe, Joe Biden has promised to give a more prominent role to trade unions. To give extra help to workers, especially younger ones, will be an increase in the federal minimum wage. It is expected to go from the current $ 11.50 to $ 15 per hour. The planned fiscal measures are also inherent to the economic consequences of the coronavirus. At least in intention, Biden said he wanted to facilitate loans to small businesses affected by the crisis and direct support to families.
A point very dear to the left wing of the Democrats is the question of education debt. To pay for the costs of college education, American families go into huge debt. In theory, the debt should be repaid over the years by the work resulting from higher university education, but now this is no longer guaranteed as it once was.
And the weight on the economy is significant: about $ 1.6 trillion on the shoulders of 44 million Americans. A rising figure, which the Biden government aims to loosen with specific contributions of around $ 10,000 per student. A loan from the increase in taxes on the wealthiest taxpayers.
To help the domestic economy, about $ 400 billion in procurement is planned to guarantee American industries. An additional € 300 billion of investment in research and development is planned. In particular: electric vehicles, 5G, artificial intelligence and lighter innovative materials.
In foreign policy
In foreign policy, Joe Biden will have to work hard for a turnaround from the Trump administration. Biden aims to smooth out the many frictions caused by Trump at the international level, especially with historical allies. The intention is therefore to strengthen multilateralism, NATO membership and relations with European countries.
Relations with China will perhaps be the most complex. It is not yet clear how Biden will want to deal with an economic superpower ruled by an authoritarian system. However, it has already announced its intention to work together with its allies to tackle trade relations with China. The tariffs imposed by Trump on Chinese products and raw materials are likely to remain.
Several times the newly elected American president has reiterated his aversion to dictatorships. So North Korea is also a thorny issue. There will certainly be a more prudent attitude with Kim Jong Un than in the Trump era. "There is no doubt that the era of love letters will be over," an associate of Joe Biden told Reuters.
The new administration will try to restore the nuclear deal with Iran wanted by Barack Obama: a text that Trump's United States had torn up and which instead is important for Biden to avoid Iranian nuclear development for war purposes.
Trump's military disengagement seems to be over, Biden wants to re-establish NATO bases. He also wants greater military control in the Middle East, to face the threat of Isis and the Syrian regime. Joe Biden has however specified that he does not want to continue the endless wars of his predecessors.
Another important issue: Israel and Palestine. Biden said he opposes Israeli settlements in the West Bank. At the same time, however, it considers Israel a solid ally to be supported also economically. Joe Biden also said he did not want to relocate the US embassy to Tel Aviv again. Despite being opposed to Donald Trump's decision to move her to Jerusalem.
Racial problems, justice and immigration
The ancient and unresolved racial issue in the United States has emerged particularly in the past year. The protests and demonstrations also highlighted another issue: police violence, especially against blacks.
Biden does not seem to want to support the demands of the more radicals, that is, a rethinking of funding for the police. Rather, it would like to strengthen community policing programs with an investment of $ 300 million.
At the same time, he would like to greatly reduce incarceration. This would be accompanied by support for alternative penalties. Since the management of prisons also represents significant economic interests, an investment of about 20 billion dollars is expected. Joe Biden would also like to abolish the privatized prison management system and the mandatory minimum.
We will continue to follow the path of decriminalizing marijuana-related crimes, also canceling previous convictions. Biden would also like to make an epochal decision for the American judicial system: the abolition of the death penalty even in states where it is still in force.
Another hot topic at the center of countless criticisms of the Trump administration is the management of immigrants. In particular, Joe Biden promises to eliminate the practice of separating children from immigrant parents from Mexico.
Biden also intends to restore the so-called Daca. In essence, it is about allowing hundreds of thousands of people who entered the country illegally as minors to continue to work and study in the United States. They are nicknamed dreamers. The Trump administration has made them fully illegal by initiating an intense deportation program.
And then there is the famous Trump wall, the one that Mexico should have paid for. Needless to say, Biden will suspend construction: and God forbid.
