President Biden has managed to do a host of things in a short period of time that he probably should not have done. The results are some of the worst polling numbers at this stage of almost any presidency. I will outline the major reasons for the declining public support and recommend solutions.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill passage is proof of what is necessary and what can be accomplished. We need more bipartisanship.
Americans can look at true landmark domestic legislation like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Bills of 1964, 1968, and 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Clean Air & Clean Water Acts to see what they all have in common. They were passed with votes from Democrats and Republicans. Build Back Better (BBB), if passed, should resemble those pieces of legislation, not the one-party, partisan Affordable Care Act that engendered polarization.
* Wrong direction: Biden and Democrats are debating spending money we do not have unless we hike taxes. They want to increase spending for social welfare programs and climate change initiatives while neglecting real crises. For instance, the Social Security Trust will be depleted by 2034 and the Medicare Trust will be insolvent by 2024, as reported by the Congressional Budget Office.
* Wrong direction: Energy costs are soaring, adding to inflation. China and Russia took a pass on the climate summit. Other industrialized countries are lukewarm on their climate change plans. Without cooperation and earnest participation of all the largest greenhouse emission countries, addressing climate change on a global front cannot succeed. It would be like trying to heat a house with all your windows open. Yet we are planning to spend a half trillion for this cause? America is being asked to lead in the near elimination of the use of our God-given natural resources - crude oil, natural gas, and coal. Not wise. We should be all in on energy sources.
* Wrong direction: We should not be allowing a migrant invasion at our Southern border. The estimated 2 million migrants who've entered the U.S. recently will likely soon serve as anchors for more to come legally later. Biden's cavalier attitude as caravan after caravan marches toward the border is disheartening.
In addition, the Biden administration would like to give those undocumented immigrants who entered America in 2018, and were separated at the border from their children, a huge payout in the range of $450,000 per person. This raises concern. Will Black Americans with a slave heritage, like myself, who the government allowed to be separated from their families, get the same benefit? I ask facetiously.
* Wrong direction: The Build Back Better bill is filled with free stuff that, like other social welfare programs, people would be entitled to if they qualify. Once these benefits have been adopted, they will never be reversed, even when the "temporary" taxing measures have come to an end, thus potentially adding to our $29 trillion national debt, unless a permanent source of revenue has been established.
* Advice: It would help to stop blaming everything on COVID-19, Donald Trump, or other people. It is getting old.
* Advice. Consider a staff shakeup. Also, copy what Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama did in their administrations: Place a few prominent folks from the opposing party in your administration. It can foster bipartisanship and give you a different perspective. During the campaign Biden said he would consider doing this, but he has yet to place a Republican in a key or prominent position. It cannot hurt.
Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut's 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years.
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