I find it frustrating that people are unaware of the positive impact that President Biden’s economic policies have had on our economy, which have helped the average American citizen, such as myself.
Therefore, I would like to highlight some of the positive impacts of his policies.
• Created millions of jobs. Under Biden, we’ve added 13 million jobs, unemployment is at its lowest in 60 years and inflation has reached its lowest point in more than two years.
Biden passed the largest investment in infrastructure since the New Deal and the largest investment in green energy ever. He also passed the first new gun safety legislation in 30 years.
• Passed the Infrastructure Bill, which is delivering unprecedented funding to provide clean water, repair roads and bridges, improve transportation options and provide access to reliable high-speed Internet. It also is creating jobs and providing funding for roads, bridges, tunnels and trains with a focus on clean energy and carbon reduction. And it’s building a national network of electrical vehicle charging stations.
• Passed the Inflation Reduction Act. Since it was signed into law in August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act has already created more than 142,000 jobs, thanks to 191 new clean energy projects in 41 states (Source: Clean-Energy-Boom-in-States.pdf, climatepower.us).
These jobs are being created across the country and are for everyone. Whether you live in a suburban, rural or metropolitan area and have a college degree or not, there’s a job (and training) for all kinds of job seekers.
Our communities will benefit from about 9 million jobs being created during the next 10 years. (Source: BlueGreen Alliance: 9 Million Jobs from Climate Action: The Inflation Reduction Act)
• Keeping money in our pocket.
• Reducing costs for homeowners who make their homes more energy-efficient. Discounts are being offered for things like rooftop solar, energy-efficient home appliances and more.
• Reducing prescription drug prices for seniors. Every single person who gets their insulin through Medicare will see lower monthly costs, thanks to the $35 cap on monthly insulin costs.
Our government’s leadership in capping prescription prices is leading the private sector to follow suit, lowering insulin prices for millions of people.
Medicare patients are also getting lower prices for other prescription drugs offered through Medicare Part D.
• Reducing health insurance premiums by up to $800 for people who buy insurance on their own.
• Strengthening IRS enforcement to crack down on tax cheating by the wealthy and corporations, so our communities get the money we need for our health care, schools and roads.
Right now, the richest 1 percent avoid paying $160 billion a year that they owe in taxes because the IRS lacks enough tax enforcement staff.
• Modernizing the electrical grid to meet the energy demands of today and deliver more electricity from clean energy sources and be more reliable during extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods and snowstorms.
The Clean Energy Plan will help the U.S. generate its own renewable and reliable energy, stabilizing the energy market and increasing affordability.
• Setting the minimum corporate tax rate to 15 percent so big corporations are finally going to be paying what they owe. Billion-dollar corporations will no longer get a free ride off of average Americans.
Fighting culture wars, lashing out against people who are different from us, banning books, etc., are just ways of ginning up people, distracting people and dividing people.
I think we can all agree on the fundamental things that are important to us: available jobs; a good education for our children; access to affordable health care; clean air and water; and safe communities.
Government leaders should focus on what they can do to improve the lives of people. When they do this, we all prosper.
Laura Slott
Hewitt