The race to the White House is on and whoever takes the throne will have a challenging task at hand – bringing the country’s waning economy to a halt after the current corona pandemic that’s causing unemployment to the level not seen since the Great Depression. So, the economic reforms of the candidates will play a major role in the Presidential election 2020. The former Vice-President and the presumptive nominee in the Democratic primary, Joe Biden is leading the race to stop the President Donald Trump from being re-elected.
Who is Joe Biden?
Joe Biden, who served as the 47th Vice President of the United States, is the only viable electoral candidate against President Trump and the Republicans. Biden also served in the United States senate from Delaware from 1973 through 2009. The 77-year-old is running for the President the third time, previously in 1988 and 2008. The former Vice President has witnessed up close the Vietnam War, the Watergate and Iran-contra scandals , the fall of the Berlin Wall, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, and a presidential election decided by the Supreme Court.
Who is Donald Trump?
Donald Trump is the first billionaire President and believed to be the richest President in the United States history. Trump is the only Presidential candidate to receive highest votes than any Republican in the history of the primaries, even more than Ronald Reagan, John McCain, and Mitt Romney. On 8 Nov, 2016 , the 73-year-old business magnate went on to become the 45th President of the United States in what is touted as one of the most unprecedented presidential elections in the history of the United States.
Difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump
Education
– Michigan philanthropist Betsy DeVos joined the President Donald Trump’s administration as the U.S. Secretary of Education and helped advance a number of education reforms and proposed a $5 billion annual tax-credit “Education Freedom Scholarships” program to help fund scholarships to private schools. This would allow corporation and individuals to contribute to the program instead of paying taxes.
Biden’s education plan focuses on eliminating funding disparities between schools and increasing the federal government’s investment in educators. The plan also suggests a hike in teachers’ salary – an idea previously proposed by Kamala Harris.
Healthcare
– President Trump promised to make prescription drugs more affordable and to repeal Obamacare, which was signed into law in 2010. Trump released the “American Patients First” plan to reform the rebates drug companies pay to pharmacy benefit managers. Trump vowed to end Obamacare and replaced the plan with Trumpcare (American Health Car Act).
The 2020 Democratic frontrunner plans to insure more than 97% of Americans by proposing a new Medicare-like public option, premium tax credits for working families, ultimately building on the Affordable Care Act. His healthcare plan would add $800 billion to deficits over a decade or more.
Taxes
– President Trump is proposing another tax cut as a measure to boost the economy, fuel growth and put more money in your pockets, which would cost the federal government a whopping $1.5 trillion, according to the analysis of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The budget estimates that it will balance the budget by 2035. One of Trump’s administration top priorities remain suspension of payroll taxes.
Biden’s tax pledge focuses on the everyday Americans who earn $400,000 a year and vowed to preserve the tax cuts for America’s top 5 percent, and raise the top income tax rate from 37% to 39.6%. He is likely to inherit double-digit unemployment and near-zero interest rates, if he gets elected as the next President of the United States.
Trade
– The focus on the Trump’s trade policy is to put “America First” in the global trading system, emphasizing on American nationalism, unilateralism, protectionalism and isolationalism. He promised to put large trade deficits to force the trading partners to open up their markets while following a no tolerance policy on unfair trade practices.
If Biden wins the 2020 election, the biggest challenge for him probably would be developing a coherent U.S. trade policy while undermining some of the fundamental flaws in the Trump’s trade policy. He says, “Trump thinks it’s about trade deficits and trade surpluses. It’s not about that.” He vows to build a united front with allies and partners confronting Trump’s aggressive measures as only exacerbating.
Jobs & Wages
– While both the candidates focus on creating jobs through infrastructure investments, Trump likely to back his “Buy American, Hire American” agenda, seeking higher wages and employment rates for U.S. workers and rigorously enforcing harsh immigration laws. Although, Trump claimed the wages for low paid workers have gone up to 16% since he took the seat, but there were other factors involved. The number of jobs increased each year under the leadership of Trump, but the numbers are less than what they did under former President Barack Obama.
Biden supports gender equality, saying, “it’s past time we close the pay gap and ensure women get paid as much as men.” He promises to create more good-quality jobs lamenting average Americans’ limited access to fair wages. He plans to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 banking on a better-educated workforce to make up for the losses incurred as a consequence of trade deals.
Biden vs. Trump: Comparison Chart
Summary
Both Biden and Trump have some differences on a lot of issues, such as social welfare, gun laws, economic policies, immigration, tax reforms, healthcare, education policy, housing and finance, etc. While both candidates plan to create jobs through infrastructure investments, Trump has been advocating his “Buy American, Hire American” agenda since he took the office. Biden, who is known for his decency and empathy, vows to bring this economic slowdown to a halt by creating millions of middle-class jobs through his infrastructure plan. Biden is outpacing Trump according to the latest polls, but the race to the 2020 presidential election is still a long shot.