Opinion: Polarization Dominates Recent Political News
With a three-month long winter break finally reaching an end just two weeks ago, a lot has transpired on the political front, particularly on the national level. Therefore, I thought it would be interesting to look back on all that has happened over the past three months.
When everyone departed from campus in November, we were all fairly certain of the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election. Since then, we have inaugurated a new president: Joe Biden. December played out rather hectically, as COVID cases continued to climb and the incoming administration planned its cabinet and agenda. On the vaccine front, Pfizer and Moderna both received FDA approval, and they are currently being used to vaccinate both healthcare workers and seniors over 65 across the country. According to NPR, on February 10, 2021, approximately 9.9% of the U.S. population, or 32 million individuals have received at least the first dose. The rise in vaccinations, coupled with the end of the winter surge have meant that locally, our COVID numbers seem to remain fairly low and stable for the time being.
As 2021 emerged, we all said goodbye to 2020, a year many will remember with little fondness, as the Biden-Harris Administration was inaugurated on January 20th. Since then, the administration has instituted a swath of Executive action, despite the Democrats controlling both the House and Senate. In fact, Biden’s administration has instituted more executive orders in their first several weeks than the past three presidents combined. These include a federal renewal of DACA, which protects children of undocumented immigrants, as well as the controversial shutdown of the Keystone XL pipeline, which was responsible for tens of thousands of jobs near the U.S. – Canada border. In addition, Biden has vowed to take an aggressive stance on fighting climate change, vowing to move the U.S. to being carbon neutral by 2050. In the present, this has meant a tough stance on fracking on public land as well as rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, which sets emission standards as well as ambitious goals for a clean energy revolution. Previously, this agreement was thwarted by the Trump Administration, as they believed it did not hold all of its members accountable – particularly China. Biden’s latest item is a new COVID relief package carrying a $1.9 trillion price tag. It contains $1400 direct payments to qualifying households, as well as greater funding for schools and states. Conservatives have opposed Biden on this deal and have instead proposed a bill costing closer to $1 trillion, which would reduce payments to $1000 while making these direct payments more means-tested. Their bill also contains money for vaccinations and schools but is less adamant on state level bailouts.
The Biden agenda has proven to be a challenge for a president vowing to earn bipartisanship support and make an effort to heal and unify the nation. Biden has continued to default to executive action amidst concerns that his agenda cannot achieve bipartisan support.
Riley Dulin - Staff Writer