The Presidential Events: April 2021

The third full month of the Biden administration is over, and I agree with AOC that Biden exceeded expectations, but that's a low bar, and not sufficient for a satisfactory result.

Simply by taking the country seriously, with a focus on policy, Biden performed better than Trump. He takes his positions on the issues seriously. He isn't particularly focused on himself, and isn't interested in creating a spectacle of himself. Trump's unserious presidency was easy to follow, because he so wanted people to know that he was doing stuff, even when he wasn't doing stuff, and his disciples wanted Trump to publicly know that they were doing stuff, even when they weren't doing stuff (or were doing illegal stuff).

While Biden passed a small amount of progressive policies, and proposed many, proposals aren't policy. Many liberal, left leaning, and Democratic pundits are listing the things Biden can, can, can do, but it doesn't matter. Biden doesn't deserve credit for saying he wants to do something. He earns credit for passing bills, or for really committing to them. Campaigning on a fifteen dollar minimum wage, but bailing on it at the first opportunity is a sign of weakness. He passed policies which were more progressive than he campaigned on, but also backed off of his progressive promises.

A question; What will policies of Trump's will he retain? He has already decided to keep some.

Let's review, The Presidential Events of April, 2021.

Iran:

Obama signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Trump illegally withdrew from it, and Biden has to deal with the consequences. Diplomats from the United States and Iran met in April to renegotiate the deal. Initial reports as to the success of negotiations was mixed, with Iran testing advanced centrifuges. But Israel was worried enough about success to try to talk Biden out of further conversations.

Afghanistan:

Biden announced plans to withdraw all remaining US troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. Upon this news, the Taliban boycotted all peace talks. The United States is already leaving.

Taiwan:

With increased Chinese aggression toward Hong Kong and Taiwan, Trump strengthened ties with the latter, and Biden continued this policy. The State Department wants “to encourage U.S. Government engagement with Taiwan that reflects our deepening unofficial relationship,” which sounds awfully official. And an “unofficial” delegation is headed to the island, lead by Senator Chris Dodd and former Deputy Secretaries of State.

Yemen and Saudi Arabia:

Though Biden reduced US involvement in Saudi Arabia's it it isn't over. In fact, the United States is still servicing Saudi jets in their brutal bombing campaign.

Other Foreign Policy:

In another foreign policy continuation, Biden won't reverse Trump's decision to side with Morocco against the sovereign state of Western Sahara. But, Biden was also the first President to recognize the Armenian genocide. Erdogan threatened to retaliate by recognizing the genocide of Native Americans. Biden should recognize it first.

Also, Biden considered Matthew Rojansky, a scholar on Russia, as his advisor on Russia, but some experts considered him soft on Russia.

Janet Yellen, Biden's Treasury Secretary, proposed a global minimum tax rate.

United States Military:

Many Democrats complained about Trump's expansive military budget, but are strangely silent when Biden wants to spend even more than his predecessor. Meanwhile, Lloyd Austin initiated a plan to weed out extremism in the armed forces, specifically white nationalists and far right radicals. The Senate approved Colin Kahl as undersecretary of defense for policy.

Immigration:

With the removal of Trump's most draconian immigrant restrictions, the number of migrants at the southern border increased. More than 170,000 migrants were found at the southern border in March. This number is the result of stifling immigrants at the border for four years. Yet, the numbers are still less than their peak from 1995 to 2005. LexisNexis, a legal research and data brokerage, signed a deal with ICE to provide personal data to help with enforcement. Roberta Jacobson, who had coordinated the southern border, stepped down in the month of April. Despite the White House's best effort, the public eventually saw the conditions of migrant shelters. They show children packed into overcrowded facilities. This is inspite of the continuation of a Trump policy, which allows the government to reject migrants with legitimate humanitarian claims, because they might spread the coronavirus.

Biden officials expressed a desire to construct part of the unfinished border wall to fill gaps. The White House continued to seize private property for the wall.

Obama accepted more than 110,000 refugees in 2017. By 2020 Trump had reduced the number to 15,000. Biden promised to increase the number to 62,500 for 2021. But news leaked that he was backing away from that promise. The President then had to walk back this reduction. But he defended not raising it immediately. In the end, Biden promised to publicly state his new plan on May 15^th.

The Coronavirus:

The coronavirus is still infecting 60,000 people a day, and killing 700; an improvement, but not enough. On April 19^th everyone became eligible for the vaccine. There were some slight hiccups. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine was paused when 6 out of 6,800,000 vaccines caused blood clots with life threatening results. Two weeks later, states started using the J&J vaccine again when US health officals reapproved it. Moderna reported that its vaccine was still 90% effective six months after injection. Though half of US adults are vaccinated, the United States saw an 8% rise in cases as states reduced restrictions.

Meanwhile former Democratic candidate Howard Dean insisted Biden reject a waiver that would allow the production of generic vaccines for low income countries. Biden also received criticism for his international response. With enough vaccines purchased to vaccinate all Americans, the United States continued to hoard extra supplies, protect copyrights, and materials. This is not only morally indefensible, but bad politics and health policy for the United States.

Money and Politics:

A collection of friends and corporate elite run the DCCC, controlling its policies. A report from the Revolving Door Project gave Biden a B- overall for ethics and relying on industry insiders. Among his worst grades were a D- for influence by the Military Industrial Complex, a D for the Influence Industry, and an Inconclusive for Big Pharma.

Budget:

In April Biden rolled out his infrastructure plan. A two trillion dollar plan with $621 billion for roads and bridges, $165 billion for public transportation, and then billions more for electric car charging stations, water systems, broadband infrastructure, modernizing homes, plugging gas wells, and updating the electric grid. Democrats can pass it with fifty Senators plus the Vice President. Republicans are against the whole idea, from the corporate tax increase Biden wants to use to pay for it, to basically any part of it.

Despite Republican intransigence, their absolute disinterest in making a deal, Biden is still secretly meeting with them. His time would be better spent forcing Joe Manchin into line.

Even with the rejection by Republicans Biden continued to roll out other spending plans. His budget plan asked for a 16% increase over the previous year to fund manufacturing, provide money for expanding preschool, and ward off the worst effects of climate change. Then Biden asked for $1.8 billion in health care, child care, and education. His plan funds the entire cost with tax increases for the wealthy, like doubling the capital gains for those making more than one million. Republicans rejected the tax increases, and some Senate Democrats wanted to pay for the $1.8 trillion with debt.

While the Senate rejected Biden's plan to raise the minimum wage, Biden unilaterally raised it to $15 an hour for federal contractors. The USDA increased SNAP benefits for 25 million Americans. And Labor Secretary, Marty Walsh, said that gig workers should be treated as employees, raising the possibility of legislation.

The Environment and Climate Change:

The world needs a serious effort to alleviate the worst effects of climate change. Biden's initial plan during the primary was pathetic. Now some pundits are claiming that climate is the centerpiece of Biden's domestic policy. He wants to cut emissions by half by 2030. He wants to eliminate government subsidies to fossil fuel producers. The US is working with China. He could deliver on the promise. Could, could, could. Yet, these aspirations are not strong as they appear. Nor are they just. Meanwhile the Army Corps of Engineers won't shut down the Dakota Access pipeline.