Moneda Moves (75): Biden's many promises to Latinos and how he's following through on Week 1
A 46th president has been sworn in and it’s a new day, mi gente.
President Joe Biden has made an extensive list of promises to Latinos, so here on Moneda Moves, we’ll be tracking how closely and urgently he’s fulfilling them and how they apply to our relationship with money. We’re also going to cover the Latino cabinet picks making their way to DC.
But first, we want to tell you about our latest podcast episode about the Black and Latino-led fintech platform that just raised $1.5 million:
Have debt? Perhaps a better question is: Who hasn’t?
This week, we featured fintech company Qoins helping users pay off more than $15 million dollars of debt. I speak with Co-Founder and CEO Christian Zimmerman who not only was named Forbes 30 Under 30 for social impact but also raised $1.5 million in its first institutional investment round to expand its platform and double its staff. Zimmerman didn’t build Qoins alone, but with the help of his co-founder Nate Washington. He shares how a pitch turned into a full-fledged company and what it takes to build a team you trust.
And now, onto Biden’s must-know executive orders and headlines of the week.
Con poder,
Lyanne
Headlines to put on your radar.
Biden’s promises to the Latino community📰: It’s no doubt that on his campaign, Biden made a big appeal to Latinos. Now, he has a long list of promises to the community to fulfill. It should come as no surprise that healthcare and education top the list, which are two topics consistently ranking as most important issues for the diverse bloc. In the preamble of his list, he also writes about raising minimum wage to $15/hour “so that people can live with dignity.”
A promise on this list that has generated quite some attention with mixed skepticism is reforming the immigration system. Biden has vowed to provide 11 million undocumented immigrants with a roadmap to citizenship.
It’s Week One, and Biden has a tall order to fill for the Latino community. So, what relevant orders has he signed so far?
Relevant executive orders Biden has signed🖊️:
100 day masking challenge: Though it’s not a national mask mandate, this is significant for the nation and Black and Latino communities which have been especially hard-hit financially and health-wise by the pandemic.
On DACA and immigration: Biden has backed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and made a call on Congress to enact legislation providing a path to citizenship for these immigrants. He’s also called to end the Muslim ban.
Reversal of Trump environmental policies: Biden’s starting his base by undoing some of the policies from the Trump administration, including by revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and and re-establishing a working group on the social costs of greenhouse gasses.
Extended federal moratorium on evictions: There is also an ask out to several agencies to prolong a moratorium on foreclosures on federally guaranteed mortgages. The extensions all run through at least the end of March.
The pause on federal student loan interest and principal payments is extended: The pause is through end of September, though activists are pushing Biden to eliminate up to $50,000 of student/person.
What’s next? Biden is focused on targeting food insecurity and expanding nutritional programs (by increasing pandemic-EBT benefits by 15%) for the most needy. He will also sign an order dedicated to promoting a $15 hourly federal minimum wage.
Rising voices in business, fintech, entrepreneurship and beyond.
Latino cabinet picks on the Biden administration🗳️: There are 26 Cabinet-level positions in the Biden administration, and seeing the map certainly makes an impact. CNN laid it out: half of the nominees are people of color, four are Latino. Towards the end of last year, even The Congressional Hispanic Caucus appealed to Biden, urging him to nominate more Mexican-Americans and Latinos to be nominated. These are Biden’s picks:
Xavier Becerra // Secretary of Health and Human Services: Becerra, who was the first Latino to hold the office of attorney general in California, is son to Mexican immigrants. The former congressman was also the first in his family to graduate from college. His goal is to help the Biden administration build a “stronger, more just and more equitable nation.”
Miguel Cardona // Secretary of Education: An educator with 20 years of experience as a public school educator, Cardona has extensive experience in America’s public education system as an attendee, instructor and principal. He will be tackling giving educators a well-deserved raise and easing the burden of education debt, among other issues.
Isabel Guzman // Small Business Administrator: Having served as director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate, Guzman also worked with the Obama administration. In her role, she will be helping oversee lending programs to small businesses.
Alejandro Mayorkas // Secretary of Homeland Security: Mayorkas arrived to the United States from Cuba as a child and headed the department’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency during the Obama administration. It should be noted that at the time, the president was criticized then for being a “deporter-in-chief” due to his record of deportations. Now, Mayorkas would have to balance calls to abolish ICE with the administration’s interpretation of securing the border.
And that’s a wrap for this historic week. We’ll continue tracking the administration’s next steps. Until next Friday, Moneda Moves family!