First and foremost, of course, is the development of a task force to combat the pandemic of COVID 19, that has debilitated the US economy and devastated the financial lives of millions of Americans across the nation, with many facing both starvation, and home loss.
Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, last month noted in the face of loss, "Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses," Powell said in a speech delivered to an economic conference. A too-slow recovery would also exacerbate existing inequalities, Powell said, which would be "tragic."
He also added that "The recovery will be stronger and move faster if monetary policy and fiscal policy continue to work side by side to provide support to the economy until it is clearly out of the woods."
Diane Swonk, chief economist at the Chicago office of Grant Thornton, noted in a recent tweet that “Bet is we get more fiscal stimulus AFTER election than pre-election, despite changes w[ith] infections in elected officials, their staffs, and beyond.”
Earlier she had also said that the “Fed is running out of rabbits to pull out of the hat” to save the economy from the ravages of the pandemic.
Bden’s plan is a full court press to confront the pandemic head on with an approach that will not minimize, or downplay it, and in coverage by The Los Angeles Times, they noted that, “Come Jan. 20, Biden is planning to take a starkly different approach backed by scientists and economists . . . by urging and sometimes even requiring mask wearing, testing and social distancing — backed by strong federal guidelines and policy — Biden expects that fewer people will get sick and U.S. growth will more quickly recover.”
“Increasing use of masks by as little as 15% could prevent the need for lockdowns and reduce associated losses by up to $1 trillion, or about 5% of the American economy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, citing research from Goldman Sachs.”
As is well known, Biden has been refused access to the presidential daily briefing and other information since President's Trump’s refusal to concede means that the General Service’s head Emily Murphy has refused to “ascertain” the election results and robbing him, and his transition team of much needed information.
On Sunday the president acknowledged that Biden has won, but fraudulently, thereby giving an extension to the refusals, in what is sure to be further justification for the transition denials.
The LA Times also noted that “One administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump is so focused on his future that “he could care less, or even less than before,” about the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 242,000 Americans.”
CNN has also reported that the Biden people are using backchannels to get information that they would normally receive through a peaceful and logical transfer of power.
“Faced with a lag in the transition process, Biden's team is working around the hurdles Trump has created to be prepared on day one, the sources say. The transition, which has already named a Covid-19 task force, has been making calls to governors and their staff, as well as the health community, to discuss both the response to the pandemic as well as plans to distribute a Covid-19 vaccine.”
“That includes meeting with officials in the Department of Health and Human Services about the pandemic response, or with the Trump administration's vaccine task force, Operation Warp Speed, as the government is preparing to distribute the first Covid-19 vaccine within weeks. Biden's team will take over the vaccine distribution when he takes office, and health experts say the two administrations must be on the same page for a seamless transition, that, if flawed, could impact hundreds of millions of people.”
Also on track is the ongoing controversy of closing schools, keeping them open, or a hybrid of in person and virtual learning; one that continues unabated and also suffers from unequal facilities and political affiliation, and economic status, an unhealthy brew that is designed to cause more than a little concern.
Biden’s five point plan released earlier this year, “stresses the former vice president’s message to safely reopen the economy, pointing out that the first step to give Americans confidence to sending their kids back to school is getting the virus under control by ramping up testing and protective protection equipment,” reported NBC News.
The plan gives equal weight to a partnership between local and federal officials, something that has not been seen, “and Biden also says that as president, he would empower local decision-making while still setting clear national safety guidelines for them to follow given that the “Trump administration’s chaotic and politicized response has left school districts to improvise a thousand hard decisions on their own.”
“Everyone wants our schools to reopen. The question is how to make it safe, how to make it stick. Forcing education students back into a classroom and areas where the infection rate is going up or remaining very high is just plain dangerous,” Biden said.
He also proposes $58 billion from the HEROES act for general support in this key area, but also $30 billion to go directly to public schools to support intensive cleaning and PPE, among other forms of help.
Rounding out this selective list of hot button items, is another education related change, and that is the end of the Betsy DeVos efforts to reduce, or as some have said, to end public education, as it has existed in America; and a legacy of free education that carried many immigrant dreams as they sailed into Ellis Island.
First and foremost the yet unnamed education secretary will be one that has had actual teaching and administrative experience in the classroom, unlike DeVos who had none.
The Washington Post reported that He has promised hundreds of billions of dollars in new education spending, for preschool through college. He has proposed college debt forgiveness. And he wants to overturn a controversial regulation on sexual harassment and assault that universities and others strongly opposed.”
There is some cross sectionality in that Biden has closely aligned himself with teachers unions, and less so with those who favor a more centrist position, and with a wife who is an educator, some of the discussion of who, maybe met with a “why not” said an official on deep background.
Continuing with a woman of colour, should they be the best choice, Dr,. Janice Jackson of Chicago is on a list of recommendations from Democrats for Education Reform.
Of course, money is a priority and as the Post reported, “Biden has promised to triple spending for the $15 billion Title I program, which targets high-poverty schools. He has said he would double the number of psychologists, counselors, nurses and social workers in schools. He has promised new money for school infrastructure. And he has said he would dramatically increase federal spending for special education."
“He also wants to fund universal prekindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-old children; make community college debt-free; and double Pell grants to help low-income students pay for college, “ they added.
Biden has a ton of support from educators, including Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and “Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, an influential conservative in education policy and a one-time presidential hopeful, congratulated Biden. Arne Duncan, President Barack Obama's first education secretary and a vocal critic of Trump and DeVos, said, "American just won,” said Education Week, on their blog.
Some changes can be made by executive order, about others like the controversial reversal of Obama era protections for victims of sexual assault on college campuses, entwined in stautes may take longer.
DeVos whose wealth, some educators note, have shielded her from the realities of public education has also made some public gaffes, one glairlgly, when she said that HBCUs, historically black colleges and universities, were created to give American Blacks a choice in higher education, when the exact opposite was the truth.
She was also denied access to the front door of a Washington, DC school, and has supported gun use by teachers, and in one humorous exchange during her confirmation hearings suggested they could be used to shoot bears from attacking children.
A new administration brings new priorities and new ways of handling issues, but perhaps at no time, such as this, will an incoming president face a mountain of problems, and passions, and all set against a backdrop of a mounting, and persistent, pandemic.
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