A new US President has been elected for 2021. Congratulations Democrat Joe Biden!

Like all new leaders, much is promised, but what will he deliver?

Biden will begin his term while we are still in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic. Our societies and economies continue being ravaged by this plague.

In today’s article:

1. Biden’s 5 Point Plan to Beat COVID-19
2. 3 Challenges to Implementation and Victory
3. How the Biden COVID Plan could affect the economy, investments and immigration
4. Positive Effects of Rapidly Beating COVID
5. Today’s Key Takeaways

We will discover how we can expect the economy and society to get back on track, and what we can look forward to with our US investments and immigration goals.

Biden’s 5 Point Plan to Beat COVID-19

1. Implement Widespread Testing-and-Tracing
2. Establish Sustainable Supply Chain for PPE and Supplies and Help for Health Care Workers
3. Accelerate the Development of Treatments and Vaccines
4. Reopen Right
5. Protect Older Americans and Others at High Risk

1 >>> Implement Widespread Testing-and-Tracing

“Today, the trajectory of COVID-19 in America is headed in the wrong direction. In some parts of the country, the test positivity rate is climbing, hospitalizations are sky-rocketing, and testing sites are overwhelmed. Donald Trump’s catastrophic failures of governance have led to tens of thousands of needless deaths and economic pain for tens of millions of Americans. We are only four percent of the world’s population, yet we have 25 percent of the world’s cases and deaths. And, the United States is barely better equipped to manage the threat of COVID-19 today than we were six months ago. Every day that Trump wastes not acting, he squanders the sacrifices of the American people and sets our response and recovery back even further.”

Biden Action Points

• Guarantee regular free universal access testing, including workers called back on the job.
• Increase drive thru testing sites until there are no more lines
• Build a national contact tracing workforce and reinforcing under-resourced public health departments.

2 >>> Establish Sustainable Supply Chain for PPE and Supplies and Help for Health Care Workers

“Biden will take responsibility, rather than leave states, cities, tribes, and territories to fend for themselves, and focus on producing more of these critical supplies in the United States.”

“Health care workers put their lives on the line every day, and the risk they face is unacceptably compounded by the inconsistent and politicized response [during Trump administration] to expert guidance, like social distancing and masks.”

Biden Action Points

• Create adequate and flexible American sourced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) infrastructure
• Implement a nationwide coordinated effort to distribute required PPE resources
• Ensure that hard-hit and resource-poor areas needs are adequately covered.

and

• Providing premium pay for health care workers at risk
• Offering emergency paid leave
• Provisions for free housing for quarantining health care workers
• Creation of a a Health Care Worker COVID-9 Consultation Hotline
• Access to early intervention metal health services
• Implementation of national registry to quickly mobilize staff into areas of need.

3 >>> Accelerate the Development of Treatments and Vaccines

 

“Ensure everyone — not just the wealthy and well-connected — in America receives the protection and care they deserve, and consumers are not price gouged as new drugs and therapies come to market.”

Biden Action Points

• Proactively build a nationwide vaccination plan
• Establish an Emerging Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Network
• Restore relationship with World Health Organization (WHO)
• Secure research from cyber threats.
• Increase large scale manufacturing of vaccines.

>>> BIG NEWS with NEW VACCINE!!!

“Pfizer Inc. said Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine may be a remarkable 90% effective, based on early and incomplete test results that nevertheless brought a big burst of optimism to a world desperate for the means to finally bring the catastrophic outbreak under control.

The announcement came less than a week after an election seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s handling of the scourge, which has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide, including almost a quarter-million in the United States alone.”

4 >>> Reopen Right

“A stronger, more effective reopening recognizes that we won’t be able to solve the economic crisis in our country without a rigorous public health response. It requires clear, science-based, and nationwide public health guidance — including a clear, consistent message from the very top of our government on the importance of mask wearing — because we are one country with one population to protect.”

“Ensure evidence-based guidance for each phase of reopening and an easy-to-read Nationwide Pandemic Dashboard that Americans can check in real-time to help them gauge whether local transmission is actively occurring in their zip codes. This information is critical to helping all individuals, but especially older Americans and others at high risk, understand what level of precaution to take.”

Biden Action Points

• Assist schools and child care programs with re-opening
• Ensure worker protection and accountability
• Creation of rigorous temporary workplace standard
• Support small business owners with “restart package”
• Guaranteed sick leave and sick care leave

5 >>> Protect Older Americans and Others at High Risk

“The massive shortfall in COVID-19 testing and contact tracing has particularly heightened the risk of exposure, increased social isolation, and made more difficult the efforts to return all Americans – and especially older Americans – to something resembling normal life as safely and quickly as possible.”

Biden Action Points

• Ensure enough testing capacity so that people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities are able to receive visitors safely
• Boost Social Security payments by $200 USD per month
• Increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by 15%
• Guidance for phase re-opening via the easy-to-read Nationwide Pandemic Dashboard

*** The above information and quotes were sourced from joebiden.com

Challenges to Implementation and Victory

“It is unacceptable that with cases surging in some parts of the country and Americans urged to go back to work in others, we still do not have the basic capacity in testing and contact tracing we need to sustainably manage this virus.”

Some of the current failings in confronting, containing and eradicating the COVID-19 presence in the USA:

• Incoherent COVID strategy from the top down
• Inconsistent containment infrastructure and implementation
• Insufficient resources and supplies where they are needed
• Incomplete testing and sharing of data and resources
• Increase of infection rates upon re-opening

The good news is that the plan and intent to combat the virus in a complete and comprehensive manner exists with the upcoming administration.

>>> 3 major challenges the American populace will face as they continue to fight the pandemic:

1. Trump’s delayed, inconsistent and inaccurate approach to dealing with the pandemic has helped create an environment of denial and misinformation within the country. Major segments of the US population maintain that COVID is a hoax, or a way to assert control over the population. The anti-vaxxer movement will reject any type of discovered vaccine as an infringement of their rights, just as libertarians refuse to wear masks in public or practice social distancing.
2. The second challenge is dynamic and cyclical in nature. The longer COVID stays around as an unwelcome guest, the longer it will affect the economy in a negative way. And the longer the economy takes to recover, the harder it will be to contain the pandemic, unless the Federal government repeatedly comes in with a Relief Fund and Stimulus Packages.
3. So, the final pitfall involves funding. The incoming Democrat White House could face obstruction towards strategy implementation if the Republicans retain control of the Senate. Look for Senate opposition towards funding of a proposed integrated federal strategy or ongoing Stimulus Package.

How the Biden COVID Plan could affect the economy, investments and immigration

The Biden Strategy is betting that a substantial and sustained federal boost in COVID resources into communities, along with economic stimulus will be the quickest way to save lives and bring the economy and society back to normal.

The nexus of the different strategies is that Biden’s plan to combat COVID is clear and determined.

He has stated his support for a more than $2 trillion Second Stimulus Package, and that a second stimulus package will not be the last, as the federal government needs to lead the way with resources as needed.

From the joebiden.com site:

“Biden has voiced support for a robust relief measure that includes another federal bonus to weekly unemployment benefits, more aid for struggling small businesses and financially distressed states, and another round of stimulus checks to most households.”

>>> Positive Effects of Rapidly Beating COVID:

Economy:

With COVID in check people can return to being busy with their normal lives: working and enjoying time with their family and friends. This “normalcy” or stability also helps long term economic growth.

Investments:

Investors are often afraid to commit in times of uncertainty. And, as long as the US continues with an infection per capita rate far higher than any other country, foreign investors may continue to stall with diminished confidence. Tackling the Coronavirus A.S.A.P. will help foster a more comfortable investment climate.

Immigration:

The faltering economy and health realities caused by COVID hit US immigrants and foreign workers in two major ways: reduced visa quotas and travel restrictions.

Many migrant or temporary skilled workers are finding it impossible to renew their H1B Visa due to more stringent applications processes. Yet even with a secured Visa reaching the US right now can be problematic.

And, would be immigrants face travel quarantines or can’t travel to the US to undergo interviews, or return from the US.

For the determined immigrant or investor, there are ways to safely invest and immigrate from their home country. Follow this link to learn more.

https://baicapital.com/covid-19-strategy-invest-safely-in-the-usa-without-flying-part-2/

Yet all in all, the situation for immigrants and foreign workers will only improve, all the more should COVID be contained rapidly.

What experts are saying:

“Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential race will provide a boost to a U.S. economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic as his bold spending plans and stauncher support for trade and immigration more than offset the drawbacks of new taxes and regulations, top economists say.

Biden’s blueprint will bring back the 11 million jobs and $670 billion in annualized gross domestic product wiped out – and not yet recovered – in the crisis more rapidly than if President Donald Trump had won a second term, analysts say.

“Biden’s policies are the right ones to address the economic crises created by the pandemic,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s analytics. “With such high unemployment, low inflation and zero interest rates, Biden’s proposal to go big on government investment will get us back to full employment fastest. His policies are also targeted to help low- and middle-income households hit hardest by the pandemic.””

Today’s Takeaways

COVID-19 has put us all in a dire predicament. We are caught in between a rock and a hard place. Keeping safe at all costs is costing the economy, yet reopening society and the economy without staying safe is costing lives. We can’t deny that millions of people are dying, nor can we deny the massive effect shutdown has had on the economy.

Yet it must be stated here:

Opponents to spending measures and social restrictions should heed that in the case of COVID, it’s quite apparent we aren’t just playing with the economy or peoples social lives. Government actions or lack thereof, as well as inadequate social protocols, are directly responsible for lives lost.

I’m sure all of us have thought about these dynamics far more than we would have liked. Yet, the reality is that the only way to beat COVID in the long run is with a balanced strategy.

By coming together and bringing our best selves we will overcome this global calamity. We hope that the plan proposed by President-elect Biden can be implemented swiftly and with success. So that we can return to our normal lives.

The investment analysts at BAI Capital are experts at analyzing risk, locating profitable ventures, and managing capital accordingly. We can help you navigate through the uncertainty that we are going through in these times, as citizens, immigrants and investors.

Be safe and stay strong. The best is yet to come.