How Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” Plan Will Help Latinos and Other People of Color

The fourth and final part of Biden’s economic recovery proposal aims to “deal with systemic racism and advance racial equity in our economy.” 

FLORIDA — In the midst of the nationwide financial upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected peoples of color, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has unveiled a plan aimed at helping those communities overcome long-established economic inequities.

Advancing Racial Equity

The 77-year-old’s economic agenda aims to boost Latinos, a segment of the population that has been consistently maligned by the Trump administration. And although it stops short of endorsing slavery reparations, it proposes to rectify entrenched racial inequalities among Blacks and other ethnic minorities. 

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To this end, the plan, which represents the fourth and final part of Biden’s “Build Back Better” economic recovery proposal, would “deal with systemic racism and advance racial equity in our economy.”

The “Biden Plan to Build Back Better by Advancing Racial Equity Across The American Economy” includes:

• Increasing the funding of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which the Trump administration has tried to reduce or eliminate, to boost Latino and Black business ownership. These communities make up roughly ​30% of the U.S. population​ yet own ​just 7.5% of small businesses with employees​. 
• Providing small businesses with a restart package designed to help them survive the current COVID-19 fueled economic crisis by allocating more than $50 billion in additional public-private venture capital to Black and Latino entrepreneurs.  
• Expanding access to $100 billion in low-interest business loans by funding state, local, tribal, and non-profit lending programs in Black and Latino communities.
• Directing more than $50 billion in new equity investment and venture capital for entrepreneurs in economically disadvantaged areas.
• Ensure all small business relief efforts are specifically designed to aid businesses owned by Black and Brown people.
• Expanding access to affordable health care through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including doubling the funding for the community health centers that often provide care to undocumented immigrants, as well as restoring funding for Planned Parenthood, which treats more than a half-a-million Latino patients. 
• Reforming the immigration system by prioritizing a comprehensive immigration reform that will give some 11 million undocumented immigrants a roadmap to citizenship. 

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Biden has also proposed new tax credits for those who care for children, seniors, and disabled people. The plan would cost $775 billion over 10 years and would be paid for by rolling back tax breaks for real estate investors who earn more than $400,000.

The plan would also include certain provisos aimed at aiding unpaid caregivers who take care of family members, offering them a $5,000 tax credit and Social Security credits.

A Boon for Florida

According to US Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents Florida’s 26th Congressional District, this initiative would have a great effect in Florida, where so many Latino families live with and care for aging parents and grandparents.

“I know that Vice President Joe Biden understands the challenges and stress of caregiving,” says Mucarsel-Powell, who lives with her 80-year-old Ecuadorian mother. “Vice President Biden has taken care of aging parents. He knows how hard it is for millions of Americans —especially Latino families— who are just trying to make ends meet. I don’t think the President we have in the White House, Donald Trump, gets it.”