Biden, the new Roosevelt?

Failing to transform the entire health care system, Joe Biden's Democrats promised their voters that they would undertake major social and economic reforms, the most significant since Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal after the Great Depression. This Democratic promise is embodied in the Build Back Better reform plan, a gigantic project originally estimated at $3.5 trillion. But now this plan will not see the light of day, since two centrist Democratic senators refuse to support it in the Senate and thus prevent this reform from becoming law. Why? The cost associated with it is enormous and the American economy is already in bad shape, says one of the two senators, Joe Manchin, of West Virginia.

Yet I believe that several measures proposed in this bill are not revolutionary for us in Canada. Here are a few of them:

• Free preschool (the equivalent of our four-year-old kindergarten)

• Affordable child care services

• Child benefits

• Lower prices for prescription drugs, including a fixed price for insulin

• Expanding what is covered by Medicare public insurance

• Parental leave

This list, which is not exhaustive, does not include a very important section of the plan that concerns the environment and the energy transition initiated by the majority of major industrialized countries. Indeed, approximately $555 billion US of the plan would be used to promote renewable energy, both for businesses and citizens, as well as electric transportation.

Mom, Dad

One of the measures that most strikes our imagination concerns parental leave. In 2020, only 20% of private sector employees were able to benefit from such a service . In fact, the United States is the only country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that does not have a parental leave program.

Currently, the only measure that can be found is the one affecting companies with 50 or more employees that are required to grant 12 weeks of leave, guaranteeing that the person will not lose their job. Wait before breathing a sigh of relief, there is no monetary obligation associated with this measure: only a job guarantee.

It was precisely this paid parental leave that a majority of Democrats had been demanding before lowering their proposal to four weeks. In the end, they chose to break up the reform plan into different measures because this proposal of 12 weeks, even lowered, was too costly according to some politicians.

Health inequalities

When it comes to health care, 2.2 million Americans living below the poverty line lack access to public insurance.

The majority of them are African-American, which does not help achieve equal opportunities.

In about 30 states, middle-class Americans spend about 10 percent of their wages on health insurance. Clearly, they're a far cry from the free coverage found in Canada.

Educated, but in debt

In my opinion, another major debate in the United States is student debt. In fact, Joe Biden wants to make college education more affordable. He proposed, in his original plan, to pay for some sessions in American public universities to promote access to higher education, where less fortunate people are disadvantaged.

As of mid-January, total student debt stood at over $1.873 trillion . Nearly 45 million Americans are heavily in debt due to their education. The average cost of attending college is $35,720 per year. Unless you’re quickly earning a six-figure salary, I don’t think it’s likely that a young adult will be able to pay off debt of that magnitude quickly.

President Biden promised to cancel $10,000 of student debt for every student, but no bill has been passed to do so yet. Another broken promise.

A good idea for everyone?

The flamboyant businessman Elon Musk, founder of Tesla , has made several statements in the media asking members of Congress to reject Joe Biden's plan. He believes that the State is already doing too much and that this project is excessively expensive.

On the other hand, several leaders of large companies such as General Motors , Ford and Microsoft are putting pressure on politicians to make Build Back Better possible.

As for Canada, the federal government is concerned about an important element of the plan: a credit of US$12,500 that would be granted to citizens purchasing an electric car produced entirely in the United States and by a unionized company!

For Justin Trudeau, this measure goes against the rules of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) which aims to promote a production chain that crosses borders. If this measure is adopted, the effect on the Canadian automobile industry could be brutal.

When we compare ourselves, we console ourselves.

Our healthcare system is far from perfect (we only have to look at the issues raised during the COVID-19 pandemic), but no person would ever be denied care based on what they have in their bank account. As for parental leave, Quebecers are far behind many citizens of Scandinavian countries in terms of social benefits, but well ahead of our American neighbors.

With three years left in Joe Biden’s term, to say expectations are high is an understatement…