opinion | Michael Bennet: Building an economy that works for everyone – not just the wealthy few
Michael Bennet
Michael Bennet/Photo courtesy
Growing up, it was an article of faith that if you worked hard, you could build a better future. For my mother and her parents, this was more than belief—it was a central fact of their lives.
As Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust and came here with nothing but each other, America was a beacon of opportunity: a place to rebuild their shattered lives and offer more opportunities for the next generation.
When they arrived, my mother (the only one who spoke English) enrolled in a public school and my grandparents started a small business. From them I inherited my belief that as Americans we should expand opportunity so that more people can rise through hard work.
My town halls across Colorado over the past 13 years have conjured up a different picture — an economy in which families are finding it harder to thrive.
Across the state, people work incredibly hard but still can’t afford a combination of housing, health care, child care, or college education. They can’t save or afford middle-class living, and rising costs from gas to rent make it harder.
Their struggles reflect an economy that has worked well for the wealthiest Americans but poorly for everyone else for the past 50 years.
One reason is that Washington has spent the last two decades wasting trillions of dollars on tax cuts for the rich and worsening inequality instead of investing in our families and our future.
In Colorado, that failure has translated into crumbling roads; housing stock that has not kept pace with a growing population; schools that failed to prepare children to earn a living wage; and a healthcare system that costs too much.
Ever since I’ve been in the Senate, I’ve fought for an economy that grows for everyone – not just the people at the top. And over the past 18 months, we’ve taken important steps towards that goal, even if we have much further to go.
After the worst public health crisis in a century, we passed America’s rescue plan. It has helped us beat the virus and reopen our communities and schools. It gave Summit, Eagle, Pitkin, and other mountain communities resources to address rising housing costs, public safety, and the mental health crisis.
It included my bill to expand the child tax credit, which is the biggest tax cut for working families in generations. Last year, it provided just about every family in Colorado with an average of $450 a month. Ninety percent of Colorado children benefited from the CTC. It has drastically reduced child poverty and given families a lifeline against inflation.
Last year we passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill that will repair our roads and bridges and help us compete with China. Colorado has already begun using the funds to repair I-70 – a vital gateway to our mountain communities. Based on a bipartisan bill I authored in Colorado, the law also makes historic advances in broadband to connect every family, farmer and small business to affordable high-speed Internet.
Congress also passed a budget with much-needed investment in local communities. Now Minturn is building a new water tank. Summit County Sheriff is expanding its mental health response team. And the Vail and Eagle public transit companies are making overdue improvements.
And this summer we passed the Inflation Reduction Act — the largest climate investment in history, to provide clean energy, boost production for wind, solar and batteries at home, help rural communities transition and save nearly $30 billion in drought relief , nature conservation, forest health and environmentally friendly agriculture.
Together, these actions will reduce America’s climate pollution by 40% by the end of the decade.
The next generation of Coloradans expects us to give them a future of more opportunity, not less. A future where families aren’t drowning with rising costs and flat wages; hard work means safety and dignity; Our economy works for everyone, not just the richest few.
All of this is possible when we put ideology aside, focus on solutions, and highlight the best in Colorado and the country.
That’s why I’m running for re-election. I would be very happy about your support.
Comments are closed.