Biden tried to take a “victory lap” in a sparsely-attended and socially-distanced State of the Union after his first 100 days. He patted himself on the back for the Administration’s Covid response, for increasing jobs, and the “rescue checks” that have been sent out to citizens. “The largest Jobs Plan since World War II,” he claimed. “More jobs than any president in his first 100 days.” And while he talked about the transcontinental railroad and the space program, the “jobs” he’s thinking of are those connected to his low energy Green program, building windmills, solar arrays and the like. “When I think “climate change,” Biden said, “I think jobs.” This is the new mantra to rally the citizenry around the Green New Deal.
Biden repeatedly lamented that the US is falling behind in competition with other countries, particularly China. He used this alleged “competition” with the “autocrats” —his warcry: “Autocrats will not win the future…. The future belongs to America"— to motivate his request for more money for education under his “American Families Plan,” proposing, among other things, adding two years of free community college to the nine-12 grades now prevalent.. Science R&D is now less than 1% of budget, he warned, saying he would increase it.
