America will be better with Biden (I hope)
My friends keep asking me why I am supporting Biden. At first, it was baffling to me that they were supporting Trump. But maybe they just don’t understand where I am coming from and vice versa.
Instead of yelling at their faces, and calling people names, I decided to write this. Here is a list of the things I believe to be true, accompanied by facts and sources that have led me to believe them.
If you see anything that’s not accurate, please call me out. Also, If you support Trump I will be more than happy to read your reasoning.
We might not share the same view on many points, but I hope this can help you understand where I am coming from.
Immigration
Summary: Trump does not want any immigrants. Biden does not want illegal immigrants.
Hypothesis: Trump does not want any immigrants. Legal or otherwise.
Facts:
- Tried to use Covid-19 as an excuse to revoke legal student visas (USA Today, Harvard and MIT sue, Trump backtracks).
- Slowed down the process by which immigrants/refugees can apply for asylum. (AFSC, This American Life).
- Established the “Zero-Tolerance Policy”, where illegal immigrant families were separated, thereby taking more than 2,500 children away from their parents (NPR, Opinion Article).
- His administration can’t find the parents of 545 kids, 60 of which are younger than 5 years old. This happened because they deported their parents while leaving the kids in the US (NYT).
- Increased the requirements needed to apply for work visas (NYT).
- Allowed ICE to arrest people without warrants. Arrests of immigrants without criminal convictions have spiked 203% (NBC News).
Hypothesis: Biden does not want illegal immigrants.
Facts:
- The Obama administration deported 1.18MM illegal immigrants in his 3 years in office, vs 800k under Trump (The Hill).
My Opinion
I cried when listening to the podcast episode of “This American Life”. It was so sad and disarming to see so much pain is being inflicted on other people that were trying to do the right thing. I cannot in good conscience ever support a person that wants to do this, regardless of how good it could be for my 401k.
Violence
Summary: Biden will unite the country, while Trump will continue to divide us and promote violence.
Hypothesis: Biden rhetoric is around coming together and solving problems together.
Facts:
- Pledge to unify America (Twitter).
- Pledge to not look at red states or blue states, but rather to look at the United States of America as a whole (YouTube).
- Biden has a history of working across the aisle to get problems solved:
- The 2010 Tax Relief Act, which resolved a taxation deadlock (White House Archives).
- The Budget Control Act of 2011, which resolved a debt ceiling crisis (Wikipedia).
- The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which addressed the impending “fiscal cliff” (Tax Policy Center).
Hypothesis: Trump’s rhetoric made the country more dangerous
Facts:
- 52 Incidents of violence claim Trump as their instigator (The Guardian).
- Hate crimes reached a 16-year record high (Axios, Seton Hall University).
Hypothesis: Trump failed to take any action against Russia and Afghanistan for threatening American sovereignty
Facts:
- Russia offers bounties for killing American soldiers (NYT).
- Iran threatened American citizens not to vote (NYT, NYT, AS),
Hypothesis: Trump surrounds himself with corrupt people
Facts:
- Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman charged with tax fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, lobbying violations and witness tampering.
- Michael Cohen, personal lawyer, charged with campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud.
- Steve Bannon, Trump’s top adviser and White House chief strategist charged with defrauding Trump supporters.
- George Nader, informal adviser on foreign policy, charged with having child pornography and trafficking a boy to the United States for sex.
- Roger Stone, longtime friend and adviser, lying under oath to lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
- Source: Reuters
My Opinion
Living in the US in a Trump presidency has been scary. I can feel my heart sink whenever I am outside of the Bay Area and I see someone wearing a MAGA hat. I don’t remember the US ever having to put wood boards in store fronts before an election. If there’s an option, in which the president would not actively try to divide the country, I choose that one.
Economy
Summary: The stock market had a great performance under the Trump administration. The stock market had a good performance under the Obama administration. Biden is proposing a better plan than Trump for GDP growth.
Hypothesis: Your 401k grew more with Donald Trump than with Obama.
Facts:
- If you had invested $100 dollars in the S&P 500 the day Trump got elected by the next election you would have: $157.47
- If you had invested $100 dollars in the S&P 500 the day Obama got elected to his 1st term by the next election you would have: $142.02
- The stock index performance under Trump was: 15.45 percentage points better.
- Source:
- The price of the S&P 500 when Obama was elected (Nov 4, 2008): $1,005.75
- The price of the S&P 500 when Trump was elected (Nov 8, 2016): $2,139.56
- The price of the S&P 500 when Biden was elected (Nov 3, 2020): $3,369.02
Hypothesis: Biden’s plan will improve the economy.
Plan:
- Biden’s plan is forecasted to create 18.6 MM new jobs.
- Biden’s plan is forecasted to grow GDP by a trillion dollars more than it would under trump.
- Source: Moody’s Analytics
My Opinion
The Stock Market was great under Trump. However, it was not bad under Obama. Obama received a stock market going downwards because of the Housing Crash, whereas Trump received a market trending upwards.
Education
Summary: Biden will reduce education costs.
Proposal: Biden wants to make tuition free for the first two years of community college (Biden’s WebSite).
Proposal: Biden wants to eliminate some of the student debt (Forbes).
Environment / Climate Change
Summary: Trump hurt the environment. Biden will help the environment and the US economy at the same time.
Hypothesis: Biden will allow the US to become competitive in the renewable energies market.
Facts:
- Plan to invest $2 trillion over four years in green projects.
- Create 1 million new jobs in the auto industry, boosting electric vehicle production.
- Build 1.5 million “sustainable homes.”
- Source: NPR
- Cities that depend on coal industries, are closing their factories. Renewable energy might save them.
- Source: Podcast — How to save a plane?
Hypothesis: Trump invested in national parks.
Facts:
- Increased funding for national parks (AP).
Hypothesis: Trump worsened pollution.
Facts:
- Allowed gas and oil drilling in national parks (ABC News)
- Removed the US from the Paris agreement (White House, NPR Audio).
- Removed regulation that forced companies to use fuel efficient engines. Companies can now use engines that give you less miles per gas (Wikipedia).
- Comprehensive list of policies: New York Times, National Geographic.
My Opinion
Renewable energy is where the rest of the world is moving towards. It’s in the USA best interest to take a leading role in that market. Investing in renewable energy now, will pay off by avoiding having to import renewable energy technology in the future.
Others
The topics below I think is very clear who has can do a better job. But if not, feel free to ask me for some links:
- Covid-19 Handling (Someone who trust scientist and propose a plan).
- LGBT & Women Rights (Someone who appoints liberal judges).
In summary,
- Trump is good for the economy and bad for safety, health, and the environment.
- Biden is good for unification. His plan for the economy, environment, and health looks very good.
