On March 1, President Biden delivered his first State of the Union address to the American people. Biden presented his unity agenda drumming up support for Ukraine and outlining a bipartisan domestic plan. That four-point plan included providing mental-health support, especially for children, addressing the opioid crisis, ending cancer, and assisting military vets.
Family Values @ Work held our annual post-address panel, “The People’s Response to the State of the Union”, to unpack how, if at all, the speech conveyed its plans for time to care. The discussion featured four members from our Network: Namatie Mansaray of MomsRising, Yadira Sanchez of Poder Latinx, Quentin Savwoir of Make It Work Nevada, and Shannon Carpenter of DadHouse. They discussed the high- and lowlights of Biden’s address and provided much-needed context and critique.
The word that continued to come up for each panelist was more: more energy, more details, more action. Paid family and medical leave and related issues simply didn’t get the attention they deserved. When they were mentioned, detail was lacking — or inaccurate. For instance, although childcare was mentioned, the price tag of $14,000 per year, as Carpenter noted, was astoundingly low. Carpenter went on to rightly point out that the rising cost of childcare is often a major reason why families decide that one parent, usually the mother, should leave the workforce and stay home to care for children. The panel observed that the health of the economy is tied to affordable childcare, and if Biden expects to create a stronger economy, he has to pay more than lip service. As Savwoir put it, “How do we expect to rebuild a world-class economy if we don’t have anywhere for families to take their children when they go to work?”
The panel also noted that elder and long-term care should be a priority. “People are living longer, which means they may need more care and medical assistance as they age,” Mansaray pointed out. But, as we all know, caregivers aren’t getting the support they need — that includes family members who can’t afford to take leave from work to care for their loved ones as well as those who are professional caregivers, many of whom are immigrants. Despite this truth, Biden’s middle-of-the-road strategy excluded immigrant families, despite their importance to the US, which disappointed Sanchez. “I hoped for more mention of immigrant essential-worker families because they’re the ones who have kept this country, our economy running. And they are always left out of the conversation when it comes to these benefits.”
The panel agreed that Biden’s speech lacked a real plan for helping the everyday folks whose lives are impacted daily by lack of adequate support from the government and that there was no true call to action. Yet the panel rightly brought up the importance of voting, especially with midterm elections coming. They also reiterated the importance of folks calling their representatives and not simply showing up at local events, such as council meetings or rallies, but bringing a friend or two along.
The panel reminded us that our strength is in our voice and in our numbers. Biden’s Build Back Better agenda may have failed, but we haven’t. Even though Biden’s words for paid family and medical leave weren’t adequate, we have the power to make sure that his actions are.
