Biden’s executive order elicited the expected response. Many Republicans lashed out at the plan as a radical move. “President Biden’s Student Loan Socialism means every family who sacrificed their savings to go to college, every graduate who paid off their debts, chose a particular career path or decided to serve in our military.” It’s a slap in the face to all Americans who volunteered for debt,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
As with most of his policy decisions, Biden has continued the tradition of liberal Democratic presidents who put forward bold ideas before settling on gradual policy outcomes. As we have seen in law, Biden has avoided making perfection the enemy of good. He achieved long-sought Democratic goals, such as allowing the federal government to negotiate the price of some drugs under Medicare. He built his program on the hope that if the Democrats moved something through the Capitol, it would lay the groundwork for much more in the future.
The pragmatic liberal presidential tradition has both advantages and disadvantages. Presidents who adopt this strategy can certainly claim substantial legacy-building success. And to their credit, many of these programs, like Medicaid, have grown enormously and laid the groundwork for future reforms.
Considering the Senate is 50-50 today, it’s amazing that Biden can promote so many new policy initiatives. But progressive critics are not always wrong. A cautious approach does not always align with historical reality in the hope that Congress will expand or build programs in the future. Windows may be closed – sometimes completely.
Candidates love to talk about all the things they accomplish, but the hard reality is Capitol Hill is always a difficult place to operate. Democratic presidents seeking to expand the reach of the federal government in a tumultuous situation in Congress are constantly forced to consider this dilemma.
No doubt Biden will spend time celebrating his progress in recent months. Did it start the process, or did it provide a temporary solution that left the underlying disease untreated?
Source: www.cnn.com