On Tuesday, January 5 the Georgia runoff election was called and Democrats now hold the House, Senate, and presidential office. So, what can we expect from the new Biden administration with the Democratic Party controlling both the house and the senate? As of right now, the most important things on the democratic parties agenda are police reform, healthcare, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. There has also been a lot of talk around expanding voting rights, taking money out of politics, and strengthening the importance of ethics in our country. They are also calling to remove the senate filibuster which is quite possibly the most confusing thing in our government. So all of this begs the question, how much can really be changed in 4 years? Can all of President Trump’s policies be reversed, or will some make it through the scrutiny of the Democratic Party?

I’m going to break down some huge policies and assess their impact on our country.

Police reform: 

Since March, there have been many different calls for police to be defunded and some cities have followed through with these threats. Let’s look at Baltimore who cut 22 million dollars from their police departments funds. Directly from the Baltimore police departments website, there have been over 5,000 less incidents this year than last. So is defunding the police causing less incidents to be reported, or did the crime rate go down due to satisfaction with the situation the city is in.

Healthcare:

Healthcare has been the elephant in the room for what seems like forever. So, is free healthcare on the horizon or will the Democratic Party prioritize other things above this? As it seems, President elect Biden is very much against Medicare for All instead standing with the Affordable Care Act. Due to checks and balances, any policy the President elect Biden vetoes can be overridden by congress. This leaves us all wondering, how much will really get done in terms of healthcare and how loyal will President elect Biden be to his party? 

Climate Change:

Climate change is a constantly changing idea that no one really knows much about. We have all heard of the green new deal proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but the majority of people’s knowledge ends at that. The green new deal proposed a variety of things from building resilience against climate change-restated disasters, eliminating pollution and greenhouse gases as much as possible, and  guaranteeing universal access to clean water, reducing the potential risks caused by climate impacts. It also includes ensuring that all infrastructure bills that pass through congress include climate change, among others. These are all very great demands that would cost billions of dollars to enact which is part of the reason it never passed. Will this bill be modified and reintroduced, or will we create a new bill that would better suit our country’s needs?

Coronavirus Pandemic:

This last year has been one of the hardest in American history. The unemployment rate has skyrocketed and the economy has plummeted. With President Trump taking all of the heat, what will President elect Biden do differently? First off, President elect Biden has already promised that he will shut the country down to limit exposure to COVID 19. We can also expect that he will sign most if not all relief packages that come across his desk. Vaccines will most likely be rushed out to healthcare workers and the elderly, with speculation that essential workers and students are next in line. 

President elect Biden is following one of the greatest economies our country has ever seen, which leaves a lot of weight on his shoulders. With his age and potential health concerns, a lot of people are asking an important question, is there a President Harris somewhere on the horizon?