What the Biden Presidency Means for Consumers

President-elect Joe Biden has gotten to work already.

Official election results are not yet available – electors don’t vote until Dec. 14 – President Donald Trump has filed lawsuits over ballot counts in several states, and recounts look like they could be triggered in some battleground states.

But consumers already are seeing what a Biden presidency could mean for their personal lives and for the United States as a whole.

Healthcare

Joe Biden is preparing to take the reins at a critical time for the U.S. healthcare system.

Biden has spoken of “Bidencare,” which would expand the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — known colloquially as “Obamacare” — and create a public option, The New York Times reported.

He also favors a plan to lower the eligibility age for Medicare to 60 from 65 and has promised to protect healthcare access for individuals with pre-existing conditions.

Unlike former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, Biden does not support universal, single-payer healthcare, nor does he want to eliminate private insurance options, according to The New York Times.

But the very root of his plan to build on the ACA could be in jeopardy before the Biden presidency has even begun.

The U.S. Supreme Court, which now has a 6-3 conservative majority after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the subsequent confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, is set to take up a case challenging the ACA on Tuesday.

Eighteen states argue the ACA’s individual mandate — the requirement for nearly all U.S. citizens to either obtain health insurance or pay tax penalties — is unconstitutional and the whole law must be thrown out, NBC News reported.

Taxes

Biden has said he favors rolling back some of Trump’s tax changes, such as the tax cuts put in place for corporations and the country’s highest earners, according to The New York Times. 

He also has spoken of increasing the corporate tax rate to 28%, from the current 21%. 

Biden intends to retain the tax cuts for middle-class and other households, promising no one who makes less than $400,000 will face a higher tax bill.

The New York Times reported that an analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania showed these proposals would increase tax revenue by about $3.4 trillion over 10 years; 80% of the increase would fall on the highest 1% of earners.

In addition, the Penn Wharton Analysis found, households earning less than $400,000 would see a 0.9% decrease in after-tax income, on average; those earning more than $400,00 would see a 17.7% decrease.

However, the Biden campaign takes issue with the Penn Wharton analysis, saying it doesn’t paint a complete picture because it doesn’t factor in other tax-related proposals, according to The New York Times.

‘Build Back Better’

With a Biden presidency comes an economic recovery plan called “Build Back Better” that would create millions of jobs while marrying economic health with tackling climate change, reinvesting in manufacturing and advancing racial equity.

According to The New York Times, Biden is proposing a $300 billion increase in spending on research and development on things such as electric vehicles and 5G networks. He’s also calling for the government to spend $400 billion on products manufactured in the U.S.

Climate Change

The Trump administration has made several controversial moves when it comes to the environment — from leaving the Paris Climate Agreement to the change or elimination of more than 125 environmental rules and policies, according to The Washington Post — but Biden has indicated his intention to roll back many of these changes.

He has already announced one of the first orders of business on the first day of the Biden presidency will be to rejoin the Paris accord, according to CNN, putting the group’s goals “within striking distance.”

Biden also has unveiled an ambitious climate plan that promises to undo many of Trump’s changes.

His plan includes measures to restrict oil and gas drilling on public land and waters, increase mileage standards on vehicles, block fossil-fuel pipelines and provide incentives for the development of renewable power, according to The Washington Post.

Another big topic with both environmental and economic consequences is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Biden’s stance on the drilling method was questioned during the debate — Trump argued Biden would ban fracking, while Biden said he didn’t intend to, contrasting with previous statements he had made.

However, it appears a Biden presidency will indeed have some effect on the industry.

According to a Forbes report, Biden is expected to ban fracking on federal land and waters. He will be able to follow through on this via his own order or that of his future Secretary of the Interior.

During her failed presidential run, vice president-elect Kamala Harris had also promised to ban fracking entirely, Forbes reported.

The effects of a fracking ban could have serious consequences for the oil industry, according to Forbes.

However, it could also have benefits not only for the environment, but for consumers’ health.

A study recently published by the journal Nature showed elevated radiation levels at locations downwind from fracking sites, according to a Reuters report.

Areas within 12 miles downwind of 100 fracking sites had radiation levels about 7% above normal background levels, the study showed.

“The increases are not extremely dangerous, but could raise certain health risks to people living nearby,” the study’s lead author, Petros Koutrakis, told Reuters.

The chemicals used in fracking also have been increasingly linked to health risks, including cancers, according to an article published by Canadian Medical Association Journal.

COVID-19 Task Force In Place

During much of his campaign, the president-elect promised a Biden presidency would mean an immediate return to leaning on science to try to combat the coronavirus pandemic. 

He appears to be making good on that promise.

Biden on Monday announced a 13-member task force to advise him throughout his transition to the Oval Office and beyond, according to The New York Times.

The task force will be co-chaired by Dr. Vivek Murthy, a surgeon general under President Barack Obama; David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner under former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a public health professor at Yale University.

Cases of COVID-19 are spiking around the country; on Sunday, the U.S. surpassed 10 million cases, The New York Times reported.

News broke Monday morning of a study that showed a vaccine being tested by Pfizer was more than 90% effective among the first 94 subjects who were infected by the new coronavirus and showed at least one of the disease’s symptoms, according to CNN.

Biden congratulated the scientists while also warning that the wearing of masks, social distancing, and hand washing were still necessary, according to The New York Times.

Speaking in Delaware on Monday after meeting with the task force, Biden called on all Americans to wear masks to protect others from contracting the disease.

“It doesn’t matter who you voted for, where you stood before Election Day,” Biden said, according to The New York Times. “It doesn’t matter your party, your point of view. We can save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months.

“Not Democratic or Republican lives — American lives.”

What do you think of a Biden presidency? Do you think consumers will be better off as these changes are implemented? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19 as Worldwide Death Toll Passes 1M Mark
• Trump Campaign Loses Case Against Pennsylvania Election Practices
• Monsanto Asks Court to Toss $20M Roundup Verdict
• Can You Request a Female Uber Driver?