Joe Biden was having a very rough start to his presidency. For the first year and a half or so, it seemed that the economy was really shabby, inflation was skyrocketing, and everybody was blaming him for gas prices being so expensive, in particular. Many felt that the withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disaster with similarities to the American withdrawal from Vietnam decades ago. Not something that most people wanted to remember, much less have a similar episode of. And despite the mess that he inherited from his ridiculous predecessor, Biden seemed almost paralyzed. The problems of this country seemed so huge, perhaps overwhelming. Plus, his predecessor never seems to simply, finally go away. He's like a stubborn stain or, worse, like that hard stuff that gets attached to, say, an oven. It's course and rough, but it seems like it is very difficult to really ever get rid of it.
Not surprisingly, then, Biden's approval ratings were in the tank. They were low, similar to those of his unpopular predecessor. Few presidents had such low ratings so quickly into his presidency.
Well, Biden's fortunes seem to have improved quite a bit recently. Despite receiving frankly unfair criticisms regarding the steadily rising gas prices - I still never figured out why Americans think that rising gas prices around the world are controlled by the sitting American president - he has taken action in trying to lower those prices. And for the past month and a half or so, those prices have been going down, something that I actually have mixed feelings about (but that is another issue). Biden also killed a terrorist, the leader of Al Qaeda after Osama Bin Laden was killed and one of the men who had organized the September 11th attacks, according to some of the news reports that I heard. Kansas just voted to protect abortion rights there, and overwhelmingly, and that in one of the most conservative states in the Union.
Biden and the Democrats also just passed a major bill that has big ramifications for action on climate change, healthcare, taxes, to trying to tackle inflation, which has gotten ridiculous and made everyday life a whole lot less affordable for many of us. So it is a pretty big deal.
As far as climate change is concerned, the bill sets aside $300 billion for investment in energy and climate reform. That said, it is a compromise, as Democrats and many environmental advocacy groups and individuals originally wanted over $550 billion. Still, it is a bill that does something to try and address climate change, so that's something, especially given the rather ridiculous Washington gridlock and climate change denial that still is hugely influential and powerful in the United States.
Here are some more details on the climate change aspect of the bill:
It also includes several tax credits for individuals on things like electric vehicles and making homes more energy efficient.
The bill would, according to Democrats, lower greenhouse gas emissions by 40%, based on 2005 levels, by the end of the decade, which is short of the 50% Biden had originally aimed for.
"It puts us within a close enough distance that further executive action, state and local government efforts and private sector leadership could plausibly get us across the finish line by 2030," said Jesse Jenkins from Princeton University, who leads the REPEAT Project analyzing the impact of government climate actions.
Here is the link to the article I used in writing this particular blog entry, and where you can get some more details on the specifics of the just recently passed bill:
Democrats passed a major climate, health and tax bill. Here's what's in it by Deepa Shivaram, August 7, 2022:
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/07/1116190180/democrats-are-set-to-pass-a-major-climate-health-and-tax-bill-heres-whats-in-it?fbclid=IwAR3Ww0fsTUwKwd5Nd0gZg1mygZIQlHCO5_l2t7gnHTsNrqidZo5k0XD6lw8
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