You’re dollar, doesn’t buy as much as it used to, or in my case, it ever did. For too long, the middle/lower class has been left behind when it comes to economic prosperity. We are the richest country on Earth and have been for quite some time. Why then does our money not get us as much as our grandparents money did? Where did all the money go? Pew Research theorizes that factors such as rising employer benefit costs, decline in union membership, lagging higher education attainment and non-compete clauses leading to wages not being increased for workers as wealth has increased for big business. In the interest of time, I will not be diving deep into how these things were able to all occur congruently but just know that most of it falls on everyone’s(certainly not mine) favorite actor/president, Ronald Reagan, and his “trickle down” economic policy that the middle and lower class is still waiting on to feel any benefits.
Note: Eventually, when I am much older, and go for my doctorate, you will get the deep dive I mentioned above. For my money, Reagan is the singular reason for the state of American Democracy.
The pandemic has been exacerbated by an economy that doesn’t work for the average American. For too long, American families have been left behind and that has put lower income and marginalized communities in the cross hairs of COVID-19. According to the CDC, minority groups are 4-5 times more likely to suffer from COVID-19 than non-Hispanic white people. Much of this can be traced back to racist real estate policies and investment that make minority communities more likely to be polluted than white communities, leading to higher instances of respiratory illness.
Combine these inequities with the disastrous federal response to the pandemic, and you get the current carnage the U.S. is living through right now. It is clear that not only is the economy going to have to be rebuilt, but it going to to have to be built in a better, more equitable way.
This is where the choice for President in November should be an easy one. Former Vice President Biden is the person who is going to rebuild the economy to work for all Americans. His Build back Better plan is extensive. The Build Back Better plan is based on four pillars to spearhead a national effort to support, real, economic growth and sustainability, the puts an emphasis on working families.
First, he is making sure that the future is “made in America” through different initiatives and incentives. Right now, the Federal government buys products and gives contracts to companies that do not produce the materials and goods in America. Biden’s plan would redirect government spending, to the tune of a few hundred billion dollars, to make sure large government contracts are going to American manufacturing companies. His plan also emphasizes that the spending would be directed to smaller manufactures and those owned by women and people of color, in order to address the question of equity. Additionally, he plans to send legislation to congress to strengthen the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, in order to greater protect and make it easier for workers to collectively bargain and prevent businesses from classifying workers as “independent contractors,” which allows employers to skimp on benefits. For perspective, the Trump rhetoric around “buying American” is just that, rhetoric. Trump’s 2017 tax cuts rewarded large corporations for outsourcing jobs, military contracts going to foreign contractors increased 12%, and government contracts going to foreign companies are up 30%. It’s time to support a candidate that actually believes in American manufacturing and ingenuity.
But why should you trust Biden with this type of project? Well, after the last republican administration destroyed the economy in 2008, Biden was put in charge by President Obama in early 2009 to overseer the Recovery Act and make sure that the Great Recession was put to an end. He was the one that took accountability for the spending our your tax dollars that made the Recovery Act work. “Government estimates found less than 0.5% of the money doled out to contractors was attributed to waste or fraud.” He is going to make sure your money is spent appropriately. Trump continually enriches himself and his cronies with tax payer money while rewarding large corporations with tax breaks and deregulation that hurts average Americans.
Joe Biden is the man for the job. Look no further than this statistic. During the last three years of the Obama/Biden administration, the economy was rising at a faster rate than it was during the first three years of the Trump administration across almost every metric. The federal “response” to the pandemic has destroyed an economy that was stagnant at best during the Trump administration. A vote for Biden is a rebuke of kleptocracy that has defined the Trump administration. A vote for Biden is a vote for someone who has a proven record of long term national economic gains. Allow his administration to not only meet the lofty expectation he set for himself during his time as Vice President, but exceed them by rebuilding the economy in a way that is equitable for all races, fruitful for the middle class, uplifting for the poor and marginalized, and environmentally friendly for future generations.
Thanks,
John
P.S. If you feel as strongly as I do about making Joe Biden the 46th President of the U.S., go to this link https://votesaveamerica.com/adopt-a-state/ and join me in volunteering to get him and other Democrats elected up and down the ballot. Trumpism doesn’t die with Trump, we have to send his ghoulish supporters up for election, like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell, home.
She's Worth It 