Joe Biden’s policies: How he plans to help the military, economy, and more
While we still aren’t 100% certain Joe Biden will be the next president, most major news organizations have declared Biden president-elect. The former Vice President will serve alongside VP-elect Kamala Harris. But what does Joe Biden plan on doing with his new presidential powers? Are Joe Biden’s policies beneficial for the country?
We’ve discussed Joe Biden’s policies regarding the environment, the pandemic, the economy, and our healthcare system in an earlier piece. But how does Biden claim he can change the military or our education system? What does Joe Biden say about his plan to help support America’s diverse population? Let’s look at the rest of Biden’s stated policies from his campaign site.
Immigration reform
As a former member of the Obama Administration, Joe Biden acknowledged his role in creating the current immigration landscape. According to The Cato Institute, Obama’s immigration legacy was complex & flawed, citing Obama’s deportation of over 3 million undocumented immigrants, expansion a Bush-era program which increased border policing, and increase in fines levied against businesses hiring undocumented workers.
In response to Obama’s complex legacy and current U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, Joe Biden outlined his specific, stated policies to try & rebuild the immigration system. Biden declared he wants to allow asylum seekers into the country, end the prolonged detention that occurs on the border, and protect the DACA, DAPA, and DREAM acts put into place during his time as VP.
Biden also stated he’s a strong opponent the border wall Trump boasts about. Biden declared if he goes to the White House, one of his first acts will be to end the national emergency which is diverting military funding towards construction on the wall. After this, Biden asserted he wants to make a clear path to citizenship for immigrants, making it easier for them to become legal residents of the U.S.
Criminal Justice reform
Police brutality & Black Lives Matter flooded headlines over the summer after numerous POC were shot by police. Suddenly, the question of criminal justice reform was an issue a large portion of the country cared about.
Joe Biden clarified he wants to fight racial injustice within the criminal justice system. From getting non-violent offenders out of prison, to fighting misconduct and discrimination in police forces, Biden has detailed sweeping reforms as part of his platform.
Biden also professed he wants to build up community resources to make it easier to rehabilitate prisoners. Whether this means offering more mental health resources, community centers, and education opportunities, Biden claimed these resources will help keep offenders off the streets. Biden’s overarching stated goal regarding criminal justice is building a system that rehabilitates criminals, instead of hindering them.
Teachers in the White House
Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, have been educators for years. While campaigning, they touted knowing what it’s like to be a teacher in today’s world. That’s why their stated first priority was giving teachers proper pay & compensation. They boasted teachers across the country will be making a competitive wage with proper benefits with their stated reforms.
Along with his assertions he’ll support teachers, Joe Biden also detailed his planned policies to support students. Biden’s campaign site outlined plans to increase mental health resources for students, give each school the support staff they need, and rebuild school infrastructure.
Supporting military families
On his website, Biden didn’t detail any direct policies regarding his stance on the military as a whole. However, Joe Biden has outlined plenty of policy ideas for supporting the soldiers themselves.
Joe Biden declared he wants to enact policies allowing military personnel to be paid a competitive wage, as homelessness & poverty are at an all-time high among vets. Similarly, Biden also mentioned a plan to limit the amount of times a military family has to move in their lifetime, to help them save money & establish roots in a community.
Joe Biden also revealed his stated plans to help build a support system for military spouses, outlining new policies to help them build their own careers, or their own businesses if they so desire.
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While Joe Biden has several other minor policies he would love to work with, these are the main platforms Biden has taken on in the 2020 election. If he does become the President, he has his work cut out for him to enact all his stated goals. If you want to read about his other major platforms, you can read our previous coverage here.
