Build Back Better: The First 100 Days of the Biden Administration, and Beyond

By Kelly Hyman

What can the first one hundred days of the Biden-Harris administration tell us about the direction of the next four years of the presidency?

Since FDR, the first one hundred days of any presidential administration have set the tone for what may follow. Build Back Better is a brief gu

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amplify Publishing
• Release date: Jun 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637550908

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Build Back Better

Amplify Publishing

www.amplifypublishing.com

Build Back Better: The First 100 Days of the Biden Administration, and Beyond

©2021 Kelly Hyman. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, or photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the author.

Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

The views and opinions expressed in this book are solely those of the author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the publisher or staff.

For more information, please contact:

Amplify Publishing

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ISBN-13: 978-1-63755-090-8

This book is dedicated to all the courageous single mothers out there—and to Charlton Heston, who gave me my first big break as an actor. It’s also dedicated to my wonderful, supportive, and patient husband.

Build Back Better

Contents

Prologue

Introduction

PART I. Promises, Promises

PART II: Overview by Policy Area

Recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Build Back Better: Infrastructure and the Economy

Health Care and the Pursuit of Happiness

An Environment for Our Future

Foreign Policy That Works

A Nation of Immigrants

Gun Safety and Our Communities

Equity for Everyone

The Soul of Democracy

With Liberty and Justice for All

Conclusion

Addendum: Executive Chronology

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Notes

Prologue

People before Politics

After the mad rush of getting the manuscript of this book to my publisher, I had time (barely) to pause and think about the bigger picture. Writing about a president’s first one hundred days is all well and good, but what happens after that? One hundred days is not even seven percent of a four-year term. Surely, I thought, there’s more to think about than the first point—of the first game and the first set—of a tennis match!

Throughout the book, I’ve tried to avoid keeping score, as if the outcome were only about my favorite team—rather than about issues that affect real people. But it’s hard not to be a spectator—or a cheerleader. I can’t claim to be neutral. I’m thrilled when a player volleys well, metaphorically, and I’m heartbroken when they double-fault. In today’s media-obsessed culture, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the Grand Slam and forget that there are actual people involved—people who are not playing some game. They’re just trying to live their lives and sometimes getting slammed themselves. With all my heart, I want this book to be for them. What happened in Biden’s first hundred days—and what will happen in his next 1,361—is about people, not politics.

Am I Better Off?

In 1980, Ronald Reagan asked the now-famous rhetorical question, Are you better off now that you were four years ago? At the time, our country had experienced rising prices, wage stagnation, double-digit interest rates, and impossibly long lines at the gas station. With a single question, President Carter was tagged as the culprit, and he eventually lost the election.

Ever since then, that phrase has been used—and spun furiously—by politicians on either side. It’s a handy shortcut for blaming a candidate or a party in power for whatever misfortunes—real or imagined—people may feel at the moment. As such, it has become a cliché, and a cynical one at that. But I propose we start using Reagan’s question, Am I better off? in a different way:

Not: Who can I blame for the problems I’m having now?

But instead: What is being done to make things better?

The rules for rephrasing his question apply to Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. Rather than demonizing or deifying the policy makers, the rule is to look at the policy first. Does it actually do something that improves the situation—for you and those you love, certainly, but also for those you don’t know?

Let’s take the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, even though it’s not over yet. Rather than demonize President Trump or deify President Biden for the current trajectory, let’s take a hard look at the policy we have now. Did it help, who did it help, and who may be helped down the road? To be sure, the struggle to pass the relief plan was extremely partisan. But even this early in the process, the answer to the question Am I better off? (when compared to the past six months) is mostly, Yes. A majority of Americans are positive about the COVID-19 relief plan—to a degree that even some Republicans who voted against the plan have touted its benefits, like Florida Representative Maria Salazar and Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, who lauded the package’s small business relief measures despite their opposition to the bill in the House and Senate.

The same should apply to all the policies outlined in this book. Whether it’s Biden’s jobs and infrastructure plan, the recently-proposed support for American families, or initiatives on justice, equity, immigration, voting rights, or foreign policy, it’s not about the policy maker, but the policy itself. The question should always be, Does this make things better? not Who can I blame? Consider this book as a lens—not a scorecard—for viewing the next four years.

As the late author and motivational speaker Wayne Dyer once said, If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

Acting In Our Own Best Interest

It always pains me when someone acts against their own best interests, but it’s a sad fact of life. For whatever reasons, people follow a personality, or a brand, that promises something better for their lives. When in distress, people are more likely to pick easy-sounding solutions, even when we know, deep down, that they won’t solve the problem. For generations, down-and-out Americans have gravitated to political extremes rather than look at the big picture.

With the 2022 midterms approaching, the gravitational pull will be