The Start of Something Big?

President Biden's speech to the nation this past Thursday, after he signed the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill into law, was a passionate plea to Americans to pitch in and help each other get out of the colossal mess we're in.  He promised that the relief coming our way would lift us out of this depression and help us get the pandemic behind us.  And there is ample reason for hope.  The bill spends more money on the less fortunate.  It's the most astonishing turnaround of federal policy since Ronald Reagan's tax cuts.

Here are the most important provisions of the legislation, courtesy of my U.S. Representative, Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ):

• Provides direct payments of $1,400 per person and extends the child tax credit, which is expected to cut childhood poverty by 45% 
• Expands vaccine distribution, COVID-19 testing, and contact tracing to get the pandemic under control 
• Sends critical funding to K-12 schools and higher education institutions and expands broadband access 
• Supports small businesses by expanding the PPP program, providing emergency grants, and sending resources to restaurants 
• Extends unemployment benefits and delivers support for veterans out of work due to the pandemic Provides assistance for renters and homeowners and helps ensure people have food security

That's a tall order, and if the federal government comes through by satisfying it, it could be a real game changer. For the first time since 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson initiated the Great Society, government seeks to be the solution to the problem and not to be seen as the problem.  That could make President Biden's ambitious legislative agenda just a little easier to pass despite Republican opposition,  after, all, success breeds success.