The Democratic primary, the largest since primaries came into being in the ‘60s, has come to a screeching halt. Joe Biden is now the last one standing at a much earlier point in the race than in 2016 or even 2008. While coronavirus can be partly blamed for his main rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, dropping out before the convention, Biden’s convincing lead in the race meant a Sanders comeback was less and less likely.
Now that he has consolidated the support of elected Democrats like Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, he must work toward earning the support of voters — like myself — who voted against him in the primaries. With the election in November possibly taking place under quarantine, Biden may need to convince young voters — an infamously low-turnout group — that voting for him is worth leaving isolation for. Add to that the recent allegation by Tara Reade that he sexually assaulted her in 1993, which is profoundly troubling if true, and it’s clear why many young voters will be holding their nose as they vote for him, if they even vote at all.
A bold agenda like the universal basic income, the idea of sending a monthly check to every taxpayer, while far from erasing the problems with Biden as a candidate, could still spur turnout in the uncertain election environment that awaits us. Young voters are understandably concerned about their access to health services and their chances at getting a job once quarantine is lifted, as a quick economic recovery is far from guaranteed. While Biden’s recent proposal to pay off the debt of college students who graduated from public universities or HBCUs is a good development, his extension of Medicare to 60-year-olds doesn’t especially solve these concerns.
A universal basic income is a particularly good policy for Biden to advocate. While clearly a strongly progressive policy, the idea of sending a check to every taxpayer actually passed the Republican-controlled senate. Thus it may be possible to revamp it into a monthly payment that moderate Democrats and Republicans alike can support.
This pandemic is wreaking havoc on our economy and way of life, despite being, all things considered, a fairly predictable problem, and one which could conceivably happen again during the next president’s term. Our economy should be structured with disasters firmly in mind, so that leaders can take necessary steps like stay-at-home orders more quickly and with less concern for the economic impact. By ensuring that even when millions of people lose their jobs, the economy remains temporarily afloat, a basic income could help shield us from another pandemic’s effects.
To be perfectly fair, Biden will certainly win young voters by a large margin. In several recent polls he leads Trump by 14 points on average among voters 18-34, higher than his margin of nine points among older voters. FiveThirtyEight points out that from 2008 to now, young voters broke for Democrats by at least 11 points in every election, and higher than that in presidential years. That said, this number is much lower than Clinton’s lead with young voters ahead of the last election, and we’ve all seen where that’s landed us.
Biden is actually performing better than Clinton overall at this point because of his strength with older voters, so it is very possible that he simply won’t need strong youth support to win the election. However, turning away from the group he is already winning by the largest margin doesn’t capitalize on voters who, all things being equal, want to support him. Several of Biden’s positions are much more favorable to young voters than even President Obama’s were. That doesn’t mean Biden should assume our support in the fall, but it does mean he has a chance to persuade young voters to stick with him in November.
