(ThyBlackMan.com) There are three major considerations for us to ponder, when we closely examine what Mr. Biden and Democrats are doing to “better our lives,” when it comes to the American Rescue Plan, or as President Biden and his Madison Avenue marketers like to say, “Build Back Better.”
Those considerations are
1) Will the changes be long-term? In other words, in the event the Biden administration loses the next election or control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, will we enjoy the benefits his administration is advocating, or are they simply fleeting sugar high legislative type schemes, designed to make us look favorably on this administration?
2) Will the changes fix the problem, or are they simply kicking the can down the road?
3) Finally, is this administration being honest with us? The question of integrity is important. Most of us believe all politicians lie. As a result, we can end up with bad governance and ineffective legislation. Within the body of this article, these questions will be answered.
As already indicated by the above title of this article, it is being stated to you, as a part of the coalition of voters, whether you are, white, working-class, Hispanic, or African Americans, who voted and delivered the House of Representatives and Senate to Democrats and the presidency to Mr. Biden, the American Rescue Plan is inadequate. There are parts of the Plan that are helpful, and I will identify those. We will get only one opportunity, before the 2022 mid-term elections to spend $1.9 trillion. If the Biden administration spends this $1.9 trillion, without resolving our dire economic problems, Biden and the Democratic Party will hurt us. Right now, based on the bill’s current make-up, that is exactly what they are doing to the middle and working-class, Hispanic, and African American community.
However, in bringing this observation to the attention of Democrats and the Biden administration, there is no prejudgment, suggesting Mr. Biden and Democrats are not committed to helping the working-class people of this country, including Black America, during this current economic emergency. But let us face this. Democrats have won the election; the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the presidency and it is time for them to deliver. Biden said these words in a speech, on November 7, 2020, “And especially in those moments when this campaign was at its lowest ebb — the African American community stood up again for me,” They always have my back, and I’ll have yours.”
By establishing, the American Rescue Plan is inadequate, and because of its inadequacy, it is failing the constituency, whom President Biden has admitted was the key to him being elected President, two questions are begging to be answered,
1) What is an adequate plan,
and
2) What is, foremost, the specific economic problem, with the Biden Plan that needs to be resolved?
At the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee news conference on January 27, 2021, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated this, regarding our economy and the national unemployment rate: “The real unemployment rate (for December) is close to 10 percent if you include people that have left the labor force.” I would add that we are, as I mentioned, a long way from a full recovery. Something like 9 million people remain unemployed because of the pandemic. That’s as many people as lost their jobs at the peak of the global financial crisis in the Great Recession.”
The business community has also weighed-in when it comes to what “the Real Unemployment Rate” is, through a website, named “The Balance.” The Balance states: “It is among the top-10 largest finance properties as measured by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company.” It says additionally: “Our more than 50 expert writers have extensive qualifications and expertise in their topics, including MBAs, PhDs, CFPs, other advanced degrees and professional certifications.”
The Balance placed the January unemployment rate at 11.1%. The black unemployment rate, the highest of any worker group, is usually 5-6% higher than the national average. Therefore, for the month of January, we can conservatively say, the African American community’s rate of unemployment is, 16.1%. The Biden administration, in apparently adopting the Trump administration’s method of counting the unemployed placed the national rate of unemployment for January, at 6.3%. So, the obvious question is, in doing this, is the Biden administration continuing the dishonest practice of undercounting the unemployed? It is almost impossible, when you inaccurately count the unemployed to acknowledge, the nation is in a deep Recession. As the Federal Reserve Chairman stated, we are in an Economic Downturn matching the Great Recession. Thus, the current economic state of our country is not good.
In answer to question #2 above, ending this Economic Downturn is our foremost challenge. President Biden can be strategic in spending $1.9 trillion. He can END THIS ECONOMIC DOWNTURN (that is right) with that amount of money. In doing this, the anxiety level of a grateful nation will dramatically be reduced. This is not just a question about helping the working-class people of this country during a time of crisis, and keeping his word to the African American community, it is a question about the future of the Democratic Party, and whether they can show the middle-class of this country that they are on their side.
Therefore, the problem with Biden’s American Rescue Plan is, it doesn’t have within it a specific plan or means to grow jobs over the long-term. Providing fiscal support in terms of raising direct payments to $2,000 for consumers and targeting spending on measures that will end the pandemic, which the American Rescue Plan does, are short-term. However, to end this Economic Downturn, we have got to have a long-term strategy. The Biden administration may want to devote money to a Long-Term Data Driven Economic Plan to End the COVID-19 Economic Downturn and bring back the millions of lost jobs, due to the pandemic. However, because the American Rescue Plan does not have a long-term Consumer Spending plan, it guarantees a slow recovery after the effects of the $1,400 stimulus checks are exhausted in 8-10 months, causing “REAL” unemployment, ESPECIALLY black unemployment to remain high for the foreseeable future, which HURTS Black and working-class Americans. Nevertheless, we will show you in Part II, that it is possible with the $1.9 trillion to execute both a long-term and short-term plan.
Staff Writer; James Davis
Mr. Davis is a leading expert and consultant in Financial Analysis and Social Dynamics. He is a graduate of Florida A. and M. University (FAMU), a former stockbroker, and a human rights activist who resides in Sanford, Florida. He was awarded the prestigious Governor Haydon Burns Scholarship to attend FAMU and while at FAMU was awarded the first Martin Luther King Scholarship. He is the author of three books, among them is “The Fix This Time,” Boost Your Retirement Income! Simultaneously Create Jobs and Spur Economic Growth (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MI3PD2M).
Mr. Davis can be reached through his blog @ https://thefixthistime.com.