On Nov. 3, 2020, 80 million people voted for a new change to America. On Jan. 20, 2021 Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president with Kamala Harris as the vice president. This would be the first time a woman and African/Asian American held the office of vice president. The Democratic party has held the House, took the Senate, and Biden has picked his administration. The changes that Biden is promising revolve around stopping the pandemic, moving towards police reform, healthcare, etc.
During his first week in office, Biden signed 37 executive orders. One of them brought the U.S back into the Paris Climate Agreement. Michelle Hidalgo, junior, who is following the recent moves of the administration, said, “I think it’s honestly revolutionary and changing. Biden and his team are helping and undoing a lot, like the Paris Climate Agreement,” said Hidalgo. “I hope in the next 4 years it is to further and continue with social progress like the LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter. I want to see numbers go down in terms of tragedies especially when people want to express who they are.”
In terms of immigration, Biden has dropped the Muslim ban and strengthened DACA, after Trump took protections away from undocumented children moving to the U.S.
Biden has also signed the Affordable Healthcare Act back into play after Trump discontinued it, which would allow Americans to have cheaper access to healthcare. Zachary Tyler, junior, said, “I’m happy Biden won. I don’t agree with both sides, but the best option was Biden. Affordable healthcare is something I’m going to need in the future. Especially since I’m going to have to be paying a lot of money for personal conditions.”
How will Biden help fix an economy that has been mostly down due to shutting down businesses, taxes, eviction, etc.? Bessie, a 21 year old living in Virginia, said “I’m hopeful that a different handling of covid will in some way help the economy recover following these massive spikes of unemployment.”
Biden has signed a lot of economic related executive orders, such as one that will extend eviction protection for people who have trouble paying rent and protect the federal workforce, such as trying to raise the minimum wage. “I’m happy for these changes. I think they are positive considering the current economic situation,” said Bessie.
Almost 442,000 people living in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 and Biden is set to release 300 million vaccines by the summer. He has put in a mask mandate and worker health safety protocols to keep healthcare workers and the working class more safe and regulated. This is to make work space cause less spread of COVID-19. “I wish that the school was doing something better with handling covid. I think the school should either be in online school or until the vaccines are here,” said Tyler.
The Biden administration is currently getting past the post election events that went down like the riot at the capitol, Republican senators and representatives attempting to stop their agenda under Trump. Biden has come out by saying that he is going to protect the American people. “This is our moment to imagine and to build a new American economy for our families and for our communities, an economy for every American,” Biden said. “Every American has a chance to get a fair return for the work they put in, an equal chance to get ahead.”
Peter Kannikal, Online Editor
