OPINION: President Biden’s age is a positive for workers

By DAVID FALLICK

Some people think that Joe Biden is too old to be president. They may have a point.

Maybe we should take everybody who reaches a certain age and put them out on Aunt Susie’s Sunshine Morning Farm for Old Folks, where all they would be allowed to do is sit on the front porch and not contribute to society. The old folks would finally be out of the way, and we wouldn’t have to see or hear them, let alone learn from them or have to show respect to them anymore.

Then, all the people who think other people are too old to be president can take the helm – and, finally, with no old people getting in the way! After all, isn’t it better to have someone as president who is younger and does not have the experience, skill and relationships necessary to work with people in Congress to get things done on our behalf, such as get infrastructure bills passed in an evenly divided Senate and, thereby, provide us with jobs, like Joe Biden did?

TAKE A SECOND LOOK
Wait a minute!

Joe Biden got legislation passed and created jobs too?! I think I need to take a second look at him and his record.

Let’s see:

• NEW JOBS: In Joe Biden’s first year as president, six million jobs were created in the United States and hundreds of thousands are still being added every month.
• UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN: The 6.2 percent unemployment rate that existed when Joe Biden became president has dropped to as low as 3.4 percent.
• UNION SUPPORT: Republicans attack teachers unions and the teaching profession. Joe Biden supports our teachers’ unions. Hey, that’s really good for me. I’m a teacher. And, as we say, good working conditions for us mean good learning conditions for our students. And we get that from being unionized.
• COVID CONTROL: When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Trump called it a hoax, lied about it, and misled people, causing hundreds of thousands of unnecessary infections and deaths. Joe Biden took decisive public health and economic action to get things under control and help people out financially.
• NLRB UPGRADE: On his first day as president, Joe Biden fired the anti-union general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that Trump appointed and who was Reagan’s attorney involved in ending the air traffic controllers union (PATCO) when they struck in 1981.
• AMERICAN JOBS: Joe Biden got the CHIPS and Science Act passed, which will provide manufacturing jobs right here in the United States.
• INSULIN CONTROL: Joe Biden got a $35 a month limit on out-of-pocket costs for insulin for Medicare patients with diabetes. Republicans blocked that limit requirement for private insurers.
• HUNGER/CHILD POVERTY: Since Joe Biden has been president, hunger and child poverty in the U.S. has dropped.

AND FINALLY…

• A Republican senator challenged the president of the Teamsters to a physical fight during a Senate hearing last November. The behavior was totally unbecoming of a U.S. senator and is one more demonstration of the Republican Party’s animosity toward unions. Joe Biden and the Democrats, in contrast, support unions.
• Last year, in an 8-1 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled against a Teamsters local and for the company they were striking, stating that the employer could sue the union for damages. The one and only justice who found in favor of the union was appointed by Joe Biden.

Wow! Silly me. I had it all wrong!

The experience, smarts, and effectiveness that Biden has that come with his age are really beneficial for people like me who work for a living – and for all citizens of the country. I’m in!

BIDEN 2024! Forget Aunt Susie’s farm.  Biden belongs in the White House!

(David Fallick is a member of the American Association of University Professors, American Federation of Teachers and teaches English as a Second Language. He is a periodic contributor to the Labor Tribune. Opinions expressed are his own.)