Biden has abandoned America’s poor in favor of cheap politicking.

by Kolby LaMarche

Democrats are showcasing their presence in their endeavours to reclaim the allegiance of union workers who slipped from their grasp not too long ago.

President Biden recently joined United Auto Workers on the picket line, rebuking auto companies for failing to distribute their remarkable economic prosperity among workers and attempting to convince unions that they hold a spot in Bidenomics.  

Since 1988, Democrats have gobbled up votes from labor union households by double-digits. 

In 2016, former President Trump’s victory changed that. His capture of blue-collar, middle-class America – those who typically make up America’s largest unions – shocked America’s politicos. 

Trump’s vision for economic prosperity in 2016 had Democrats and union leaders shaking in their boots. According to the Guardian, “[In 2016] concerned labor group leaders are organizing ad campaigns and phone banks as Trump’s populist message on trade and jobs draws in union voters.”

Democrats – and the left as a whole – have largely abandoned their steadfast protection of American workers. Nonetheless, Democrats try to grapple with union voters. But, more significantly, they are facing challenges in retaining some of their most cherished electoral assets.

Take, for example, the most recent gubernatorial election in Florida where Governor, now presidential hopeful, Ron DeSantis won a total 58% share of the Latino vote. Within that group, DeSantis and other Republican candidates took 56% of the Puerto Rican vote and 68% of Cuban-American voters. 

In the 2022 midterms, Republican candidates for Congress garnered 14% of the black vote, nearly twice that which they received in 2018 and 2020.

And, according to the Washington Post, earlier this month “Trump is averaging 20 percent of Black voters and 42 percent of Hispanic voters.”

The bigger picture for me is this: the once strong order of the Democrat’s tried and true bloc of identity voters is now crumbling around them. They are panicking, and willing to sacrifice those no longer politically useful. 

When President Biden assumed office, he leveraged the pandemic as a platform to shed light, quite rightly, on the gross realities of poverty in America.

In his landmark legislation, the American Rescue Plan, President Biden sought to address poverty through his Bidenomics framework. The administration made a steadfast commitment to reducing the child poverty rate and elevating the economic well-being of low-wage workers.

Even as the economy continues to weigh down on Americans, many of the schemes that aimed to aid those in poverty under the plan are coming to a close. And Biden has abandoned his experiment on the poor, his tail nestled tightly between his frail legs.   

According to figures released by the Census Bureau on September 12th, the child poverty rate more than doubled and the number of those in poverty increased by 59% in 2022. 

And what about the middle class? Well, the average American family is now $2,000 poorer, with the median household income falling by 2.2%.  

It is important to remember that these figures are produced using a narrow rubric; they are conservative estimates. 

Biden has abandoned America’s poor in favor of cheap politicking to save what dwindling support he and his party have left amongst union workers and America’s middle class.

If you’ve been searching for an explanation for the persistence of poverty in one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, look no further. 

On one end, Republicans largely dismiss poverty, asserting that the market will perform its miraculous remedy. On the other, Democrats, while offering occasional gestures toward poverty alleviation, have struggled to provide enduring relief often getting distracted and losing focus. 

And then there, in the middle, are all those being left behind. 

Burning Sky is dedicated to providing critique and commentary on the issues of the day from an unapologetic perspective, fueling change in the heart of Vermont. Authored by Kolby LaMarche every Saturday.