By Cassie Kim
In the midst of the economic, social, and political turmoil plaguing America, President Joe Biden plans to meet all of his plans to turn the tides, setting the stage for his presidency and the next four years. The first 100 days of his presidency will reveal how President Biden plans to govern. Just hours after he was sworn in as the oldest President to ever take office, President Biden signed a historical high of 15 executive orders, repealing many of President Trump’s controversial policies. He rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, ended the muslim travel ban, mandated mask wearing on federal property, cancelled the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, halted construction of the Border Wall, and even rejoined the World Health Organization. This groundbreaking number of executive orders is hopefully telling of President Biden’s plans to aggressively pursue his first 100 day plan, but we will need to continue to watch to see how his plans play out.
President Biden has a lofty list of goals to achieve in his first 100 days, but he hopes and plans to take inspiration from Roosevelt who was able to send 76 bills to Congress in his first 100 days. In President Biden’s plan, he has laid out plans for economic recovery. He plans to distribute a third stimulus check, increase unemployment insurance, provide aid and legal support for renters, expand the child tax credit, provide business and government aid, and to create jobs and raise the minimum wage to 15 dollars. He also has plans to raise taxes for wealthy Americans and Corporations, as well as provide some student loan debt relief. We will have to see how the next 100 days unfold to see to what degree his goals will be accomplished.
While he seems motivated and driven to see his plans executed over the next 100 days, it is important to remember that Presidents like Roosevelt were the exception; a President’s first 100 days act as more of a symbol of significant change than actual change. Things might be different for President Biden, especially with the pressures of a pandemic with no end in sight. Regardless of whether or not he follows through with his plans, President Biden’s first 100 days will be something to keep your eye on.