Guyanese Online

Commentary — By Mohamed Hamaludin

The federal government, with Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt as president, in the 1930s, created the New Deal, bringing a vast network of enhanced social services, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and major infrastructural projects. Another Democrat, Lyndon B. Johnson, in the 1960s, poured huge amounts of money into the social safety net and also produced the landmark Voting Rights Act. But they faced stiff opposition from those who dub large-scale government spending “socialist” and ruinous to the economy. The same claim is being made against another Democratic President, Joseph R. Biden, and his$3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan.

Biden’s “human infrastructure” package offers free child-care up to age 5, saving the average family $14,800 annually; universal pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds, benefiting five million families, saving each $13,000 annually; and 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave.      Continue reading →