The United States is entering one of the most tumultuous presidential elections in its history. For many, the United States is at a crossroads, with the fate of the nation at stake. With this election being more about electability than policy, taking a look at the policies of the candidates will provide a truer foundation on which we can form our opinions. Ironically, former Vice President Joe Biden’s policies are rather unknown, as he is mostly known for not being President Trump. While this is obviously appealing to many, Joe Biden has also laid out a very broad, and vigorous agenda.

The most pressing thing for most Americans right now is Covid-19. Biden’s plan is to use the federal government to face the threat head-on. Biden plans on making testing for the virus free, eliminating cost barriers for treatment, helping develop the vaccine, and making sure that there are enough supplies and personnel to effectively deal with the virus. On the economic side, he would ensure paid leave for all those affected by the pandemic and provide all necessary help for small businesses, families, and workers. Biden also pledges to allow the scientific community to guide policy to fight the virus effectively and ensure that, next time a pandemic hits the United States, we will be better prepared. It is, in short, spending whatever it takes to meet the needs of the country and saving as many lives as possible. This plan is very critical of President Trump’s slow action and skepticism of the scientific community.

Another major theme of Joe Biden’s plan is re-growing the economy. The American middle class, Biden claims, is collapsing. While the upper class has reached its pre-2008 recession levels, the middle class has struggled to get close. To quote Biden, “it’s not sufficient to build back, we have to build back better.” For him, this means re-investing into America and building up American businesses. Doing this involves increasing federal spending by up to $400 billion on US products, materials and services to ensure that these things are made in America. This also means cutting tax benefits to companies that reduce domestic jobs in favor of overseas jobs. On top of that his goal is to provide incentives to reinvigorate small businesses, and he wants to invest $300 billion to research new technologies like electric vehicles, 5G networks, and AI. To help pay for this he would raise the corporate tax rate to 28%. As for climate change, he is proposing $2 trillion dollars to combat it and plans to have the energy sector emissions free by 2035. Most notable is his plan for the federal minimum wage. His plan would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour. With Biden’s endorsement, this higher minimum wage will become a staple for Democratic economic policies.

Education also plays a big role in Joe Biden’s campaign. For K-12, Biden wants to triple the money that the federal government spends on lower-income schools, and also use it to raise teachers’ pay. He also plans on making advanced courses like AP classes available to all students. For college, Biden wants to invest more into community colleges to better prepare students for life after school. The cornerstone is providing two years of community college tuition-free for students.

Joe Biden wants to restore and invigorate the United States. The means for that is using the force of the federal government to meet the needs of everybody. In an election where Joe Biden is known as not being Donald Trump it may come as a surprise to many that he has such a broad and vigorous plan for the future of America.