Throughout Joe Biden’s strong State of the Union speech last night his refrain was “Let’s Finish the Job.”

Consistently, from kitchen table domestic matters to his early excellent emphasis on launching a new era of USA manufacturing, to addressing the climate emergency, to combating the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, to preserving American democracy, and even to investing in the fight against cancer, Biden spoke about how his administration had taken essential first steps to combat the ills that plague our country—and now he was asking America to join him in going further and finishing the jobs he had started.

In this way, most of the speech was excellent.

Of course, with one house of Congress controlled by the opposition, it’s unlikely that his request will be met.

Nonetheless, we have to ask what would it mean to finish these jobs—and the answer in almost every (non-foreign policy) issue raised by Biden is a progressive policy that breaks with the “neoliberal” logic that dominated the last four decades of American politics.

The crises of healthcare, mental health, education, mass incarceration, low-paying jobs, wealth inequality, the decline of American manufacturing, energy and transportation infrastructure, high-tech monopolies, prescription drug prices, and even gun violence and police reform require the type of interventions in the marketplace that have been anathema since the Reagan presidency.

Thanks, Joe, for describing so many of the challenges facing American society, and for acknowledging that we’ve only just begun to address these matters. Progressives are ready to get the job done!

Of course, we know we’ll face grave opposition—from the powers-that-be to conservatives to pro-corporate Democrats—but together we can triumph because progressive solutions are the only lasting solutions to the crises America faces.

So, join with us by donating, volunteering, or both, as we work together to truly get the job done.

Thanks so much for anything you can do.

In solidarity,

Alan Minsky for the PDA National Team