At 100 days, Biden seeks to leverage narrow majorities to reverse the Reagan era

As President Biden marked his first 100 days in office with a speech to the nation Wednesday, the scope and implications of his domestic agenda have come sharply into focus. Together they represent the most dramatic shift in federal economic and social welfare policy since Ronald Reagan was elected 40 years ago.

Reagan’s small-government philosophy resulted in a decades-long squeeze on the federal government, especially domestic spending, and on tax policies that mainly benefited the wealthiest Americans.

If Biden ultimately gets his way legislatively, and that is a big question mark, those policies would be replaced with ones that would directly address long-standing economic, racial and gender inequities that have only become more apparent during the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden had to wait nearly 50 years to achieve his dream of becoming president. In office, he is operating as if he has no time to spare. Throughout his first 100 days, and again on Wednesday night, the presentation of his agenda shows he believes there is an urgent need to act and an opportunity to do so, but that he has limited time to get it done.

Biden said that to win the competition for the future, the nation needs “a once-in-generation investment in our families and our children.”

His speech was a reflection of his presidency to date: an appeal for big and bold action described in the most workaday rhetoric and by a leader whose demeanor and temperament are the very opposite of his predecessor, former president Donald Trump.