Who would have thought that “sleepy Joe”, asleep Joe, as he was called by a sarcastic Trump, would only take 100 days in the White House to deeply affect the American modus vivendi. From the beginning Biden wanted to point out the great difference with the past on the great issues of the life of the United States, in the economy, in foreign policy, in social policies and in immigration policies.
His first goal was to stop the pandemic and its consequences also on the economy in free fall, at levels of the Great Depression of the ’30s.
The goal of 100 million vaccinated in the first 100 days has been reached and even doubled. Over 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have now been administered. Nearly 30% of the population is fully vaccinated, about 90 million Americans are immune.
“When I arrived, only 8% of the population was vaccinated,” the president said confirming the success but also calling for caution because the United States is still “in a deadly race against the virus”.
Biden to encourage people to get vaccinated has introduced a tax credit for the expenses related to the permits of workers, employees of companies and enterprises with fewer than 500 workers, arguing that “no worker in America should lose a single dollar of their salary to get the time to get vaccinated or recover from an illness “.
What was the president’s winning recipe? Strengthening state aid, multiplying federal vaccination centers and opting for the pharmacy network. And then the possibility to get vaccinated everywhere, whether in a baseball field or in open fields where you can be vaccinated without even getting out of the car.
And as regards the economy, Biden presented an ambitious recovery plan. Courageous, for example, the proposal on tax reform, to touch multinationals and large technology companies, which for years have not paid federal taxes.
To the 1.9 trillion dollar (about 1.6 trillion euro) pandemic bailout, approved by Congress in March, is added an infrastructure “exhibition” plan, with investments of two trillion dollars over eight years to generate millions of jobs. And the tax reform, if approved, will make a decisive contribution to its implementation. Through the reform, the corporate tax will rise from 21% to 28%.
One of the goals of Biden’s policy is to combat the root causes of the distress of American society with so much child poverty and social inequality.
The infrastructure plan also aims to strengthen the country against climate change and global warming. Biden is preparing an executive order to urge federal agencies to take steps to combat climate-related financial risks, including measures that could impose new regulations on companies. “The main fear of this activity is rising inflation, so far. However, many observers consider this risk to be quite low.
Great changes also in foreign policy, after four years of isolationism.
Sanctions against Russia for its electoral meddling and massive cyberattack; the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the dialogue to relaunch the nuclear pact with Iran are all elements of great novelty on the international scene. Without forgetting America’s resumption of a prominent place in climate discussions. And then underground work to counter China’s strength.
Strong accelerations also on social policies. The president signed an order banning any member of the military from being expelled due to gender identity, lifting the veto imposed by former President Trump on transgender people. The Democrat became the first president to commemorate Transgender Awareness Day, which has been celebrated since 2009. Other issues in the spotlight include Trump’s punitive abortion and racism laws.
In the area of immigration there are many news. These include the promise to regularize 11 million undocumented immigrants, the lifting of the travel ban in some Muslim countries, the relaunch of programs that provide protection to more than one million young people who arrive as children (the American Dreamers ) and illegal immigrants from countries affected by climate change and poverty, including Venezuelan citizens.
Biden also ended the inhumane policy of family separation and expulsion of migrant children. But the problems are certainly not solved as border agents arrested 172,331 migrants in March. This is an increase of over 100,000 arrests since January. A record since March 2001. This increase in admissions has sparked the political battle in Congress where Republicans want to push the idea that borders are out of control.
Big problems and upcoming battles that don’t seem to stop a “sleepy Joe” who seems more awake than ever. And America is taking notice.