Sitting here earlier today, I was thinking about different candidates positions and I realized of the major candidates from a week ago, I probably knew the least about Biden's supposed positions. That comes in part because he almost never talks about them, focusing a lot more on continuing the legacy of the Obama years instead of what he'll actually do. I decided I should at least know though if he's our guy so I went looking. On just a few of the major issues:
Child Care: Biden is for universal free Pre-K for kids who are 3-4.
Education: Biden is for two free years of community college or technical schooling. He also supports doubling the maximum value of Pell Grants and a student loan forgiveness program which will make it so you don't have to pay anything back on student loans if you are making under 25,000 a year. He also proposes a cap on the maximum amount annually at 5% of your income over 25,000 a year with full forgiveness after 20 years. So if you make 50,000 a year, only 5% of 25,000 is your maximum yearly contribution. That's 1,250 a year. He is also for using federal funds to even out the funding for all schools so that those in higher property tax areas don't receive more resources.
Environment: Ensure the U.S. achieves a 100% clean energy economy and reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050 . He plans to do this by focusing on wind and solar energy.
Guns: He supports universal background checks, a gun buyback program, and an assault weapon ban.
Immigration: Supports DACA and DAGA path to citizenship. Wants to end workplace raids. Plans to increase worker VISAs. Restore the asylum system and end family separation. End for profit detention centers.
Reparations: Is open to it and has promised to have a committee to look into how this could be applied.
Minimum Wage: Supports a $15.00 an hour minimum wage
Family Leave: Supports 12 weeks of paid family leave
Sick Leave: Supports universal paid sick leave, though details on how much are scarce
Iran: Will rejoin the Iran Nuclear deal
Israel/Palestine: Will support a two state solution
Criminal Justice Reform: Believes nobody should be jailed for drug use alone, wants users to be sent for treatment if anything. Eliminate mandatory minimums. Eliminate the death penalty. Eliminate cash bail. A full end to private prisons. Guaranteed housing for those leaving prison. Supports full restoration of voting rights upon release.
Marijuana: Complete decriminalization and wants to release and expunge the record of anyone in jail for it now. True legalization to be left to the states.
Internet Access: Wants to invest 20 billion in funding to expand rural broadband access.
Statehood: Is for making both Washington DC and Puerto Rico States.
LGBTQ Issues: Supports Gay marriage, the Equality Act, and Transgender military service
Health Care: Ensure a public option is created which covers primary care without co-payments. Make sure those who would qualify for medicaid if their state would only expand coverage are offered premium free coverage on the public option. Plans to offer premium tax credits which will significantly lower costs for those who have insurance they would keep. Make in-network/out of network determined solely by location and not the doctor you see to avoid surprise billing. Repeal the law stopping medicare from negotiating drug prices. Allow consumers to import drugs from out of the country, stopping the current issue where often drugs are far more expensive in the US. Protect abortion rights. Restore federal funding to Planned Parenthood.
Some will argue that many of these are half measures compared to what Bernie wants to do. They're right on many of them. They are measures though. Every single one of them if far more than the Republicans want and we will get under Trump. Even better, these are mostly pretty safe positions to take in the Democratic Party today, thanks in part to Bernie's pushing the party left in recent years. If we can win the senate, these are all actually pretty achievable. And if Biden got half of this done, he'd have far and away the most successful presidency of my lifetime. Bernie first got into the race in 2016 to try to push the party left. He didn't think he could win, he was just trying to get some concessions. That's what winning looked like at the time. Look at that list and tell me he didn't win. Now if you actually care about Bernie's revolution, let's go out in November and get it done. Then once this is the new normal, we can work to push that new normal to the left. The next time someone tells you there's no difference between Trump and Biden, go ahead and show them this.
