{"id":18258,"date":"2021-04-06T14:23:10","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T21:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=18258"},"modified":"2021-04-06T14:23:12","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T21:23:12","slug":"how-bidens-2tn-infrastructure-plan-seeks-to-achieve-racial-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2021\/04\/06\/how-bidens-2tn-infrastructure-plan-seeks-to-achieve-racial-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"How Biden&#8217;s $2tn infrastructure plan seeks to achieve racial justice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/409ca036ca516209d5bb104c87b752529471a394\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=ce8c3019d48a39a3d0e69907c4a814ef\" alt=\"Biden in Pittsburgh last week. The president says his \u2018once-in-a-generation\u2019 plan will reverse deep racial disparities.\"\/><figcaption>Joe Biden in Pittsburgh last week. The president says his \u2018once-in-a-generation\u2019 plan will reverse deep racial disparities.&nbsp;Photograph: Evan Vucci\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Progressives have hailed the president\u2019s ambitious plans to rebuild America \u2013 and some want bolder action still<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2021\/apr\/04\/biden-2tn-infrastructure-plan-republicans-senate-tax-green-new-deal\">Republicans: Biden infrastructure plan is a partisan tax hike<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/uploads\/2017\/10\/06\/Lauren-Gambino,-R.png?width=300&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=0804d4b8c04642e4e30f7078570e5234\" alt=\"Lauren Gambino\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/lauren-gambino\">Lauren Gambino<\/a>\u00a0in Washington <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/laurenegambino\">@laurenegambino<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mon 5 Apr 2021 (theguardian.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>J<\/strong>oe Biden has said&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2021\/apr\/04\/biden-2tn-infrastructure-plan-republicans-senate-tax-green-new-deal\">his $2tn plan<\/a>&nbsp;to rebuild America\u2019s \u201ccrumbling\u201d roads, bridges, railways and other infrastructure would rival the space race in its ambition and deliver economic and social change on a scale as grand as the New Deal. The president has also vowed his \u201conce-in-a-generation\u201d investment will reverse longstanding&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2021\/apr\/04\/nina-turner-interview-democrats-progressives-joe-biden\">racial disparities<\/a>&nbsp;exacerbated by past national mobilizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2021\/apr\/04\/joe-biden-trump-infrastructure-rescue-plans\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/uploads\/2020\/03\/22\/Robert-Reich,-L.png?width=173&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=0efe21d1951dce8328fa2c035a4f564f\" alt=\"Robert Reich\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Embedded in his sprawling infrastructure agenda, the first part of which Biden unveiled this week, are hundreds of billions of dollars dedicated to projects and investments the administration says will advance racial equity in employment, housing, transportation, healthcare and education, while improving economic outcomes for communities of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis plan is important, not only for what and how it builds but it\u2019s also important to where we build,\u201d Biden said at a union carpenters\u2019 training facility outside Pittsburgh last week. \u201cIt includes everyone, regardless of your race or your zip code.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposal would replace lead pipes and service lines that have disproportionately harmed Black children; reduce air pollution that has long harmed Black and Latino neighborhoods near ports and power plants; \u201creconnect\u201d neighborhoods cut off by previous transportation projects; expand affordable housing options to allow more families of color to buy homes, build wealth and eliminate exclusionary zoning laws; rebuild the public housing system; and prioritize investments in \u201cfrontline\u201d communities whose residents are predominantly people of color often first- and worst-affected by climate change and environmental disaster.Advertisement<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The plan also allocates $100m in workforce development programs targeting historically underserved communities and $20m for upgrading historically Black college and universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions (MSIs), and quadruples funding for the Manufacturing Extensions Partnership to boost investment in \u201cminority owned and rurally located\u201d businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden introduced the proposal amid&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/live\/2021\/apr\/05\/derek-chauderek-chauvin-trial-latest-news-george-floyd-death-live-updates\">the ongoing murder trial<\/a>&nbsp;of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on the neck of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/george-floyd\">George Floyd<\/a>&nbsp;until he died. The fatal encounter sparked summer-long protests and a national reckoning on race that pushed Biden to put racial justice at the center of his governing agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families party (WFP), said the emphasis on racial equity in the president\u2019s infrastructure proposal demonstrated that he had been listening to activists and understood the interlocking challenges of racial injustice, climate change and wealth inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is not race-neutral \u2013 it\u2019s actually pretty aggressive and specific,\u201d he said, noting that it reflected the priorities of Biden\u2019s political coalition:the Black voters and women who helped him clinch the Democratic nomination and win the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps theboldest attempt to tackle racial inequality through his infrastructure plan is a $400bn investment in care for elderly and disabled Americans. In his speech, Biden said his agenda would create jobs and lift wages and benefits for the millions of \u201cunseen, underpaid and undervalued\u201d caregivers, predominantly women of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/fea1a67513c6c4bb943fc889c8e1e0e15fcc5ddd\/0_0_5576_3717\/master\/5576.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=756eef4ef8f951884dc8be5107ea96c2\" alt=\"A pickup truck on North Main Street in Madison, Virginia, U.S., on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. The Biden administration\u2019s $2 trillion infrastructure plan includes $100 billion to extend broadband networks to all U.S. households. But officials relying on industry data produced inaccurate maps of internet deployment.\"\/><figcaption>A pickup truck on North Main Street in Madison, Virginia.&nbsp;Photograph: Al Drago\/Bloomberg.\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and executive director of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.domesticworkers.org\/\">the National Domestic Workers Alliance<\/a>, called the measure \u201cone of the single most impactful plans to address racial and gender inequity in our economy\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Poo believes that Biden\u2019s plan can do for caregiving and the economy what past jobs programs did for manufacturing, turning once dangerous, low-wage jobs into opportunities for upward mobility and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The coronavirus pandemic, which&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2021\/jan\/04\/shecession-women-economy-c-nicole-mason-interview\">disproportionately hurt women and people of color,<\/a>&nbsp;showed just how critical care workers are to the wellbeing of the nation, Poo said. And yet many of these workers still struggle to care for themselves and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For generations, home care workers have been excluded from labor protections. Now, Poo said,they are at the forefront of Biden\u2019s plan to rebuild the American economy for the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s nothing more fundamental and enabling to our economy than having good care for families,\u201d she said. \u201cWithout that, nothing else can function \u2013 we can\u2019t even build roads, bridges and tunnels without care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The package also includes $100bn for high-speed broadband internet alongside provisions to improve access and affordability, which White House officials say will help to close the digital divide between white and Black and Latino families. \u201cThe internet is a tool that all of us rely upon,\u201d said Angela Siefer, executive director at National Digital Inclusion Alliance. \u201cAnd when certain segments of the population, particularly those who have been historically left out, don\u2019t have access to the tools, they fall even further behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden said his plan would help drive down costs by increasing competition in underserved communities. One provision calls for \u201cshort-term\u201d subsidies for low-income households, arguing that covering \u201cthe cost of overpriced internet service is not the right long-term solution for consumers or taxpayers\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Siefer said these measures are important, but she was skeptical rates would fall enough to make high-speed internet affordable for low-income families without permanent subsidies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Improving digital literacy is also critical to confronting racial inequality, Siefer said, adding: \u201cTo really achieve equity, we have to get beyond the thinking: let\u2019s just make it available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposal also includes&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2021\/apr\/02\/biden-administration-infrastructure-gun-violence-prevention\">$5bn for community based violence-prevention programs<\/a>, an investment Black and Latino activists have long argued will help reduce the impact of gun violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/ba72536d5c1f1f0dd97a663876e9fb65e076aff4\/0_156_4217_2530\/master\/4217.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=a202194eb3e27c2c1b8c49a53452788c\" alt=\"Construction work continues in Wheeling, Illinois last week.\"\/><figcaption>Construction work continues in Wheeling, Illinois, last week.&nbsp;Photograph: Nam Y Huh\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The administration has suggested additional efforts to close the racial wealth gap, like universal pre-kindergarten, affordable higher education and improved family leave, will come in the second piece of what could be a $4tn program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Republicans accuse Biden of delivering a \u201cTrojan Horse\u201d to fund progressive initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBiden\u2019s plan includes hundreds of billions of spending on leftwing policies and blue-state priorities,\u201d the Republican National Committee said. It singled out parts of the bill that aim to tackle racial and gender inequality, such as \u201c$400bn for an \u2018unrelated\u2019 program for home care that \u2018was a top demand of some union groups\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While many senior&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/democrats\">Democrats<\/a>&nbsp;welcomed the plan, many progressives have said it doesn\u2019t go far enough. They have called for $10tn over the next decade to confront climate change, including more robust investments in renewable energy and a target of shifting the US to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden has said he is open to negotiation and hopes he can attract Republicans to the plan. The president suggested Republicans would rush to act if they learned the drinking water on Capitol Hill flowed through lead pipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Congress begins the process of turning Biden\u2019s blueprint into legislation, progressive groups are mounting a campaign to pressure lawmakers to embrace an even more ambitious agenda. The WFP is part of a coalition of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.recoveryrecess.org\/event\/recovery-recess\/search\/\">groups<\/a>&nbsp;staging protests to demand Congress deliver \u201ctransformational economic recovery\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re going to be big and bold, be big and bold and solve the problem fully,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cWe are at a crisis moment and we won\u2019t get another shot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Progressives have hailed the president\u2019s ambitious plans to rebuild America \u2013 and some want bolder action still Republicans: Biden infrastructure plan is a partisan tax hike Lauren Gambino\u00a0in Washington @laurenegambino Mon 5 Apr 2021 (theguardian.com) Joe Biden has said&nbsp;his $2tn plan&nbsp;to rebuild America\u2019s \u201ccrumbling\u201d roads, bridges, railways and other infrastructure&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2021\/04\/06\/how-bidens-2tn-infrastructure-plan-seeks-to-achieve-racial-justice\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18258"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18259,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18258\/revisions\/18259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}