Last month, I visited Duluth and spent time with the Minnesotans who built America. I saw their resilience, their grit, and their fortitude, but I also saw their pain. It’s a pain families across this state, and across the country, have become all too familiar with this year.

More than 115,000 Minnesotans have been infected with COVID-19, with cases surging in counties like St. Louis and many others. More than 2,000 have died, missing from our lives forever. There are nearly 212,000 fewer jobs in Minnesota as a result of this pandemic, and more than 20% of small businesses have shuttered.

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Meanwhile, the hundred richest billionaires in America have made more than $300 billion since the start of this year — as ordinary folks, wondering how they’re going to pay rent or put food on the table, have been forced to ask: “Who’s looking out for me?”

Cruelest of all, it didn’t have to be this way.

Back in February, President Donald Trump knew this dangerous disease was headed for us. He was caught on tape saying as much. But he didn’t tell the American people. Think about the damage that caused. How many empty chairs are there around dinner tables in Minnesota because of his negligence and selfishness?

When President Trump was asked about the 1,000 Americans dying from COVID-19 every day, he said, “It is what it is.”

It is what it is because he is who he is.

The sad truth is that President Trump only sees the world from Park Avenue. He thinks Wall Street built this country. He looks down on guys like me, who grew up in communities where people make a living with their hands.

I see the world very differently. I see it from my hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. I know that working people built this country, and I measure our economic success by what families actually need.

An independent analysis put out by Moody’s Analytics projects that my economic plan will create 7 million more jobs and lead to $1 trillion more in economic growth than what the president has proposed.

My plan starts with listening to the scientists and getting the virus under control. We will make testing free, quick, and available. We’ll make treatment free, too. And as soon as we have a safe and effective vaccine, we will ensure everyone can get it without having to pay a dime.

I won’t just reverse the damage done by President Trump. My plan is going to build our economy back better than before.

I will not raise taxes on anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year. Period. I will make big corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share. And, with the help of that revenue, we’ll not only protect Social Security and Medicare, we’ll create millions of good-paying jobs in manufacturing, technology, and clean energy — because we need to make sure our future is “Made in America.”

I know American workers can out-compete anyone, but their government needs to fight for them. And in my administration, when the federal government spends money on products made of iron and steel, we’ll be buying from American companies, because we need to lead by example. That’s why we’ll repeal President Trump’s giveaway to big corporations and penalize those that send manufacturing jobs overseas just to sell products back to Americans.

We’ll also give folks a hard-earned raise by passing a $15 federal minimum wage. And we’ll ease the burden of the major costs in your life by lowering the cost of health care and making education beyond high school more affordable.

We will make an unprecedented investment in the care infrastructure in our country, making child care more affordable and accessible for working families and making it easier for aging relatives and people with disabilities to have quality, affordable home- or community-based care.

This election is about so much more than policies. The soul of America is on the ballot. As president, I will work every day to bind up our wounds and bring this country back together. I will govern as an American leader. I will work as hard for those who don’t support me as those who do. That’s the job of a president: the duty to care for everyone. If elected president, I will work every day to bring this country back together.

But Minnesotans have a sacred duty as well. You’ve got to vote. I hope you’ll go to IWillVote.com/MN to make a plan to cast your ballot — to help me restore the soul of this nation.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee for president. He wrote this exclusively for the News Tribune at the invitation of the News Tribune Opinion page.