Article from The New York Times; Ms. Henriques is the author of “Taming the Street: The Old Guard, the New Deal, and FDR’s Fight to Regulate American Capitalism.”
Read the article below.
The article compares President Biden’s economic policies to President Roosevelt’s New Deal, which helped America recover from the Great Depression and become a superpower1. The article praises Biden for his infrastructure, labor, debt relief, and manufacturing plans but criticizes him for two main shortcomings:
- He did not address the need for financial reform, which Roosevelt did by creating regulations to protect investors, depositors, creditors, and consumers from fraud, manipulation, and monopoly. The article argues that Biden should tackle the challenges posed by cryptocurrencies, private equity, banks, artificial intelligence, and other financial technologies that threaten the fairness and stability of the economy.
- He has not communicated his achievements and vision effectively to the public, which Roosevelt did by using his speeches and radio addresses to explain how his New Deal was helping ordinary people. The article suggests that Biden should educate voters about America’s progressive heritage and how his policies continue it.
The article concludes that Biden could strengthen his position and save democracy from authoritarianism by following Roosevelt’s example of implementing and promoting a new New Deal that makes capitalism more fair.
Read the whole article here.
For further reading, try these web pages:
- What is Bidenomics? It depends if you’re Democrat or Republican
- Bidenomics: A website that explains the economic policies and proposals of the Biden administration, including the infrastructure bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, and other initiatives.
- The Biden Doctrine: A website that explores the foreign policy and national security strategy of the Biden administration, including its approach to authoritarianism, democracy, human rights, and multilateralism.
Essay questions:
Here are three possible essay questions based on the current web page context:
- How does President Biden’s economic agenda compare and contrast with President Roosevelt’s New Deal regarding scope, goals, and strategies? Provide specific examples from the current web page context and other sources to support your argument.
- What are President Biden’s main challenges and opportunities in implementing and communicating his New Deal to the American public and the world? Analyze the current web page context and other sources to evaluate his strengths and weaknesses.
- How does President Biden’s new New Deal address the global threat of authoritarianism and the need for democracy promotion? Discuss the current web page context and other sources to assess his vision and actions.