Madison-area business leaders are optimistic about an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic under new President Joe Biden’s administration, but many are wary of quick and drastic changes to the minimum wage, environmental regulations and other policies.
Some of Biden’s priorities — such as managing the COVID-19 pandemic at the federal level, overhauling immigration policies and investing in public research and development — are goals shared by some local business organizations, such as the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and the Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP).
MadREP CEO Jason Fields, a former Democratic state representative, said he supports Biden’s proposals for a clearer, more detailed federal plan to address the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the economy. He’s hoping extreme partisanship won’t continue to hinder relief for businesses and workers in need.
“We’re hoping that we could put politics and rhetoric aside and that Congress comes together to move us forward economically and to help out a lot of people who are struggling,” Fields said.
Biden’s administration could also oversee unemployment return to the low levels that it had been at under the past two administrations, though the pandemic is still wreaking havoc on major sectors of the economy, UW-Madison economist Steven Deller said.
