MOVING FORWARD

Greetings. I am a voting constituent in rural west Texas. Who finds herself in Louisiana. On the way to Georgia. Traveling the highways like I’ve not done in several years. Why? Because though we are no doubt about to experience yet another Covid surge, America is resilient. We are coping. We are adapting. We are moving forward. It’s just unfortunate that the majority of your party doesn’t seem so inclined. Vaccinations still lag. More of your constituents are getting sick. Still. Dying. Still. But the majority of us move forward. With hope. The country is thriving, contrary to over-amped media reports, breathless to create drama, and by extension, dissension. And yet. The American Rescue Plan, passed by Democrats in March without a single Republican vote, cut child poverty in half by putting $66 billion into 36 million households. More than 4.6 million Americans who were not previously insured have gotten healthcare coverage through the Affordable Care Act, bringing the total covered to a record 13.6 million. When Biden took office, about 46% of schools were open; currently the rate is 99%. In November, Congress passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that will repair bridges and roads and get broadband to places that still don’t have it. Support for consumers has bolstered U.S. companies, which are showing profit margins higher than they have been since 1950, at 15%. Companies have reduced their debt, which has translated to a strong stock market. In February, Biden’s first month in office, the jobless rate was 6.2%; today it has dropped to 4.2%. This means the Biden administration has created 4.1 million jobs, more than were created in the 12 years of the Trump and George W. Bush administrations combined. Wages in America are growing at about 4% a year, The American economy is the strongest it’s been in decades, with the U.S. leading the world in economic growth. And yet, because your party is so good at sowing seeds of discontent, so good at stoking misguided outrage, our perspectives are constantly being skewed. “How people think about the country depends on the stories they hear about it.” So true. So instead of trying to take the country to a place that is false, please help lift us up. Words matter. Now more than ever. Regardless…Merry Christmas to you and yours. 2022 is going to be a good one.