By Andrea Ferstan, Vice President of Systems Innovation
President Biden’s first 100 days have focused on restarting and reimagining our economy. The policies and investments laid out in both the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) and the American Jobs Plan focus on critical needs and provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fully realize our economic competitiveness through racially equitable and inclusive economic growth and prosperity.
As Biden noted in his address to Congress, “We have to do more than build back better… and compete more strenuously than we have.”
This will require local, state, and federal policymakers to look beyond economic stimulus and recovery and invest in catalytic transformation to build an equitable and inclusive economy. This opportunity demands transformational action, investment, and policy, and it is up to all of us to ensure that this occurs.
While President Biden spoke of the widening wealth gap, he failed to mention that these gaps are significantly greater for Black and Brown communities. For centuries, racist policies and practices have devalued assets, extracted wealth, and prevented wealth accumulation. This has kept too many Black and Brown people in jobs and circumstances where, during economic downturns, they are further exploited and devastated.
Now is our time to be on the right side of history and it will require immediate and sustained investment with racial equity in the center. ARPA offers state and local governments flexibility and a horizon for investing dollars — both are critical for the scale of transformation needed. Investments that close long-standing wage gaps and stimulate business growth in Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian communities will pay dividends for all Minnesotans.
There is much in ARPA and the American Jobs Plan that can serve as opportunities for transformation, including:
Distribution of critical relief checks, food support and rental assistance to families who have experienced significant economic hardships due to the pandemic.
Loans to small businesses to reopen and keep their employees on the job.
Job creation through infrastructure investments that prioritize lower income communities.
Better wages and benefits for healthcare workers caring for older adults and a $15 minimum wage, both of which disproportionately impact Black and Brown workers.
Access to quality, affordable childcare and healthcare.
One example of a transformational policy for addressing poverty and widening wealth gaps is expansion of the Child Tax Credit, which, according to President Biden, is projected to help cut child poverty in half.
Yet, while the path to financial security begins with employment and tax credits, wealth gaps will only be eliminated through equitable wage advancement and accessible benefits that create the conditions for homeownership, retirement, and other forms of wealth accumulation and intergenerational prosperity critical to both family and community vitality.
###
Want to learn more about how we are driving inclusive and equitable investments of the federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars? Watch our last Reckoning to Rise Together forum featuring Alan Berube (Deputy Director, Brookings Metro), Willie Barney (CEO, African American Empowerment Network), and Heather Worthington (Principal, Worthington Advisors, LLC).