why I'm voting for Biden.

Last week, I posted a blog that ruffled more than a few feathers. I asked why anyone would vote for Trump. (Due to a strong negative reaction within my community, that post has been taken down. Drop me a line if you'd like me to send it to you privately.)

No one told me why they would vote for Trump. 

I'm here today to tell you about why I will vote for Joe Biden. My reasons stated below are based soley on Biden's campaign promises, NOT ON MY OPINION OF TRUMP.

All of this information was found here:

https://joebiden.com/joes-vision

I even divided it into categories for browsing ease.

SCHOOLS & EDUCATION 

• universal pre-kindergarten/childcare for ages 3 and 4 
• tuition-free college for those with household income less than $125,000
• increase funding for Title I programs 
• increase funding for both public schools and Bureau of Indian Education schools
• ensure that students with disabilities have access to educational programs and support they need to succeed, from early interventions to post-secondary education
  
• increase the number of psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals in schools so kids get the mental health care they need
• invest in schools to eliminate the funding gap between white and non-white districts, and rich and poor districts
• improve teacher diversity
• support educators by giving them the pay they deserve
• ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability

IMMIGRATION 

• reinstate DACA and allow new applicants
• rescind the travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans”
• review Temporary Protected Status for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries due to by violence or disaster
• ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment
• revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement
•  end prolonged detention at the border and reinvest in a case management program

COVID-19

• make sure economic relief because of COVID-19 reaches the African American businesses that need it most
• guarantee first responders have priority access to PPE
• emergency paid leave for anyone who gets COVID or needs to take care of a loved one
• free housing for health care workers to quarantine
  
• nationwide vaccination campaign to guarantee fair distribution
• ask every American to wear a mask
  

TAXES

• require a minimum tax on all foreign earnings of United States companies located overseas so that we do our part to put an end to global tax havens

• impose a tax penalty on corporations that ship jobs overseas in order to sell products back to America

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

• end capital punishment

• confront online harassment, abuse, and stalking 

• end federal private prisons

• end all incarceration for drug use alone and divert individuals to drug courts and treatment

• invest in public defenders’ offices to ensure defendants’ access to quality counsel

• expand and use the power of the US Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices

• ban choke-holds/neck restraints by police

• launch a national police oversight commission

•  decriminalize cannabis use and expunge conviction

•  create a grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention

• eliminate mandatory minimum sentences 
  
  

GUN CONTROL

• outlaw online firearm and ammunition sales

WOMEN'S RIGHTS & ISSUES

• reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act  
•  tackle the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
• end the rape kit backlog
  
• support the needs of survivors of violence against women
• protect and empower immigrant women
• lead the global effort to end gender-based violence
  

SOCIAL JUSTICE 

• LGBTQ+ Equality Act 
• appoint the first Black Woman to the Supreme Court 
• expand competitive, integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities
• expand broadband access to every American
  
• ensure tribal nations will have a strong voice and role in the federal government
• restore Tribal lands and safeguard natural and cultural resources
  
• ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in policy development and aggressively enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities

CLIMATE CHANGE & THE ENVIRONMENT

• rejoin the Paris Climate Accords
• protect biodiversity by slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions
• ensure the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050

JOBS & THE ECONOMY

• $15 federal minimum wage
• expand bio-based manufacturing to bring cutting-edge manufacturing jobs back to rural America
• double funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative 
• improve and expand the Small Business Administration programs that most effectively support African American-owned businesses
• expand access to $100 billion in low-interest business loans by funding state, local, tribal, and non-profit lending programs in Latino communities and other communities of color
• protect homeowners and renters from abusive lenders and landlords through a new Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights 

HEALTHCARE 

• protect and build on the Affordable Care Act to improve access to quality health care in rural communities

• 12 weeks federal paid family leave
  

• guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care (including mental health care) and expand access to community services 

That's not nearly everything that Biden promises to accomplish, but these are the things that are most important to me. Thanks for reading.