We cover President-elect Joe Biden's economic team. This week he announced his nominees for Treasury Secretary, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, among other positions.

On the one hand, it's encouraging to hear Biden and these nominees speak about the importance of fixing America's structural inequalities, such as wage growth, the pay gap, and immediate pandemic-related relief. The Trump administration--and the Republican party at large--certainly doesn't take up these issues with any seriousness.

On the other hand, it's disappointing to hear Biden and these nominees speak with such feverishness about the link between work and human dignity. A few spoke as if a job is the only thing that offers someone meaning in life. The reality, of course, is that as a human being you inherently have dignity, and you don't need to let the capitalistic labor market define your dignity based on what job you have. Also, where is the dignity in work for the tens of millions of Americans who work dead-end, low wage, low benefit jobs, for no fault of their own?

Our worry for a Biden presidency--coming out of a Trump presidency--is that success for Biden and his team will be measured by how "nice" and "empathetic" they are. We don't just need "Uncle Joe" to "bring us together" and "listen to use" and to "care" about "all Americans." We need the executive and legislative branches of our government to actually do their jobs in passing and enforcing policies and legislation that fundamentally and materially make our lives better and less reliant on the vicissitudes of "the market."

Raising taxes on the wealthy, expanding the social safety net, providing health care as a human right would be good places to start.