Biden’s big win will rescue millions of Americans | Opinion

President Joe Biden took a much-deserved bow for the passage of the American Rescue Plan. The $1.9 trillion package made good on his campaign promise to provide a new round of direct payments to individuals making less than $75,000 a year. He also assured that the pace of vaccinations accelerates with a $14 Billion boost to the delivery system.

A total of $130 Billion will now be used to assure an expedited and safe return to the classroom and states and localities will get help to fund police, first responders and fire services throughout the country. Gov. Tom Wolf pointed out that direct payments will flow to more than 5.5 million Pennsylvania households and another 480,000 on unemployment insurance will be able to make ends meet.

Columbia University’s Center on Poverty projects that the stimulus will lift 13 million Americans out of poverty. And, by the way, Joe Biden’s name will not be appearing on the $1,400 checks. This president is more concerned with helping a beleaguered nation than with promoting his own brand.

In terms of the scope of this legislation and the impact it will have on nearly every American, one has to go back to 1933 and FDRs first hundred days. Like then, the current president acted boldly on a number of fronts to pull the country out of an economic disaster. Like then, this is a dramatic departure from the previous administration’s private market philosophy that prevented transformational involvement by government.

Biden’s first signature achievement affirmed a belief that robust support for working families is better than doling out tax cuts to the wealthy. The return on investment will be felt immediately as families buy food, pay college tuitions, or just pay down debts incurred during the pandemic. This is the antidote to the fantasy of “trickle-down” economics where the rich got richer and middle income families got stuck with the tab.

Republican leaders make the point that the cost of the rescue plan is enormous. This is true. But it is equally true that they did not hesitate to spend $1.2 trillion on a tax plan that overwhelmingly favored the rich. The amount of debt doesn’t seem to matter to them as much as who benefits.

What’s more, the American Rescue Plan enjoys broad popular support.

Pew Research Center found that 70 percent of Americans favor the plan. This includes 41 percent of those who identified as Republicans. Similarly, the Associated Press poll showed that 70% also approved of Biden’s handling of the pandemic.

Looking deeper into the numbers, the support for some of the rescue provisions is even stronger. 85% support tax credits for working families; 77% support the funding to reopen classrooms; and 76% support direct stimulus checks to provide funding to facilitate a return to classrooms.

Still, the Republicans marched in lock-step to oppose the rescue package. Some of them argued that much of the spending was not related to Covid-19. Really? Which parts? The money to save small businesses from bankruptcy? The money to get our children back in classrooms? The handful of infrastructure projects that will provide real jobs for families that are hurting?

Others argued that the president moved forward without them. True enough. But let the record show that the president reached out to moderate Republicans early for their input. They gave him no assurance that they would cooperate beyond the photo opportunity. It seems that the orders from their leadership were similar to what we heard when President Obama faced an economy on the brink of collapse: just vote no.

Given the public approval numbers for Biden and the American Rescue Plan, this strategy of obstruction is just plain dumb. Republicans will have a hard time explaining to their voters why they turned their backs on their own voters. When their own voters were drowning, they didn’t want to throw them any lifelines.

In one transformational bill, President Joe Biden has set forth a new era of governance. It is an era that puts people first and places trust in the choices they make to build the economy from the kitchen tables of middle America. It is an era where services like education, food, health care, and decent wages are no longer considered luxuries but essential components of a healthy, prosperous society.

There is more to come. Look for an ambitious infrastructure program in the near future. Maybe the Republicans will recognize that support for roads and bridges and the huge economic development that comes with it is widespread across party lines. Maybe they will become part of the solution rather than continue the mean-spirited posture of a party frozen in its indifference.

Mark S. Singel is a former Democratic Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania.