Biden Proposes Spending $775 Billion to Alleviate America’s ‘Caregiving Crisis’

Former Vice President Joe Biden, if elected this November, plans to spend upwards of $775 billion to alleviate the “caregiving crisis” ravaging America.

Biden, the presumptive Democrat nominee, unveiled his program for creating a “21st-century caregiving and education workforce” on Tuesday. The proposal is part of a broader “Build Back Better” economic recovery agenda meant to address the consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“You know, we’re trapped in a caregiving crisis, within an economic crisis, within a healthcare crisis,” the former vice president told reporters assembled in Delaware. “You’re doing everything you can, but this president is not.”

Biden added that just because President Donald Trump had the luxury to “quit on this country,” it did not mean parents and caregivers, especially those from the middle and working-class, could as well. As such, the former vice president’s proposal calls for expanding access and support services for child and eldercare.

On the child care front, Biden’s pledges to build a longterm infrastructure that not only allows children to learn and grow, but ensures “parents and guardians the choice to pursue careers and contribute to the economy while supporting their families.” Included within the plan are provisions for free, high-quality universal pre-kindergarten for three-and-four-year-olds and an $8,000 child care tax credit for low-income and middle-class families. Biden’s plan also suggests federal and state subsidies to lower the cost of child care for families, new quality standards for care providers, and building additional child care facilities.

When it comes to eldercare, the former vice president’s plan calls for eliminating the current federal waitlist for home and community services offered through Medicaid. It also proposes hiring up to 150,000 new community health workers and the establishment of a Public Health Jobs Corps. The latter will work with state and local governments to “mobilize at least 100,000” individuals to help communities most impacted by COVID19 and the opioid epidemic.

The former vice president’s plan will cost upwards of $775 billion over ten years. It will be paid, in part, by “rolling back unproductive and unequal tax breaks for real estate investors with incomes over $400,000 and taking steps to increase tax compliance for high-income earners.”