https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/10/03/bidenomics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-unknown
After the recent presidential debate, many have wondered about Biden’s economic stances and policies. As Trump tried to paint Biden as someone without knowledge in economics, this article highlights many of the policies Biden has advocated for during his campaign. One of the most important aspects of ‘Bidenomics’ is Biden’s rejection of some of the more extreme liberal policies supported by fellow Democrats, such as Medicare For All and publicly-provided, guaranteed jobs. In fact, Biden’s plan for public spending accounts for only a 3% annual increase in GDP. Democrats such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders advocated public spending increases on the order of 16-23%. Still, Biden proposes that the spending he is suggesting would be financed by taxes, a higher proportion of which would be paid by large firms and the wealthy. Other parts of the ‘Bidenomics’ initiative include bailouts for small businesses, by offering them grants and loans: a service Biden believes Trump has largely overlooked in the midst of Covid-19. Additionally, by improving relations with China, Biden hopes a better international rapport would allow for an international distribution of a Covid vaccine. Much of Biden’s proposed public spending would be harnessed to improve middle-class living standards, through spending on education, health care, and, most notably, a $15 federal minimum wage.
Despite Trump’s depiction of Biden’s economic policies, Biden is far from a socialist. In fact, many Democrats worry about his policies not being liberal enough. It is understandable, however, that Biden wants to present himself as a moderate, logical alternative to a polarizing figure like Trump. Unfortunately, if elected, this presentation will likely come at the cost of real social and, perhaps, economic progress. Biden has to find a way to balance a careful strategy to get into office, while still seeking to affect change. It is very possible that Biden will wait to assert himself, and his economic policies, until potentially becoming president.
5 comments:
There is absolutely being a stigma put on Biden's head that he will make the U.S. a socialist nation. The motivation to do this from the Trump campaign because they believe that is where they can recoup some votes.
I also think there is motivation from the Biden campaign to appeal to the voters in the middle and this is partly why Biden is advocating for these policies. Biden knows that he will not lose the voters on the left so he is attacking the voters toward the middle and even the voters on the right who may be displeased with Trump.
I think Trump's motivation has been similar the past months. He is trying to try to strike fear into voters as a way to coerce them into voting for him. Trump is exaggerating the "socialistic" nature of Biden's policies.
It should be interesting to hear from the Vice President and Kamala Harris at this upcoming debate. I hope that they will be able to communicate more information than there was at the presidential debate.
This is exactly what I noticed in the recent presidential debate. Trump tried to paint Biden as a member of the "radical left" even though he clearly is not. Even though this statement is illogical it is a smart move by Trump, as his supporters will likely be persuaded by such a depiction. I think Biden could do a better job portraying himself as moderate, and a good choice for less conservative Republicans, in the next debate. Maybe Kamala Harris can try to start this conversation and advocate for a more moderate candidacy in the upcoming VP debate.
I think Trump's strategy to be re-elected is the same as the republican's strategy to dissuade Americans from more social market economy policies. For example, many Americans believe Sweden is a socialist economy even though it is a social market economy. They use this propaganda to keep low taxes for high-earning firms and individuals. I think taxing firms and individuals with high-earnings more to give back to the community shouldn't be seen as radical, and it's upsetting that lying about your opponents position is seen as an acceptable propaganda technique to give a candidate an upper hand.
The term "socialist" or the concept of socialism, in general, is often misused more than anything. I do not view Biden's economic views and proposed policies as such and seeing them as such would simply be incorrect. During the debate, I think Trump was simply trying to appeal to Republicans and Conservatives in ways that would encourage them to vote for him, and in order to do so of course he had to discredit his opponent. I would describe Bideconomics simply as progressive economic policies that aim at providing/improving social welfare and more, and of course, Republicans have a long history of claiming that would lead to economic disaster which has rarely been the case. In the context of this year's election, only Biden's win and actions if he eventually steps into office will tell us more about the real nature of his policies.
I really think that while trump can only cater towards one side of the economy, Biden can cater towards both because his moderate policy don't take to much from one side and still manages to give a lot to the other side
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