How many of you recently went to a local restaurant only to find a sign on the door that read, “sorry due to the current situation we are now closed on weekends.” Or went to the grocery store to find the item you need has gone up significantly in price, or not in stock. This is a common occurrence for most Americans these days.
Unfortunately, businesses are being forced to cut back on hours and services to stay open. This problem is not due to mismanagement or poor business practices, but rather bad policies. Policies such as our government telling private businesses how and when they can operate, out-of-control spending, and paying people more to stay home than they can earn on the job. Policies have consequences and you and your family are paying for them.
Democratic policies have done nothing but worsen our labor shortage and inflation. If you don’t believe me then look at the numbers. According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), we have reached a year-over-year high of 10.1 million job openings. Up from 6.1 million open jobs the same time last year. The most recent jobs report disappointed greatly. Economists had expected 720,000 new jobs created in August, and we got a measly 235,000. According to a CNBC survey, half of small business owners are having more difficulty finding qualified workers compared to this time last year. Nearly one-third of businesses have been unable to fill their jobs for at least three months. Sadly, unfilled jobs mean more businesses cutting hours or shutting down completely.
A once in a century pandemic has no doubt been difficult to manage, but Democratic policies have added fuel to the fire. Biden spent nearly $2 trillion in COVID relief earlier this year. Congress is currently considering a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, and another $3.5 trillion “infrastructure” package on top of that, although that package is nothing but a liberal wishlist. That’s nearly $7 trillion in new spending in this year alone. We cannot sustain this misuse of your tax dollars. Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer won’t be around to deal with this problem. It will be my generation and the next who will be left to pay the tab.
This out-of-control-spending has caused our inflation to skyrocket. Gas is up 41.8% from last year, the energy sector is up 23.8%, hotels are up 24.1%, used cars & trucks are up 41.7%, and worst of all, bacon is up 11.1%. The Democratic party says their bills won’t tax the middle-class, but when your dollar does less it is a direct tax on your bank account, and disproportionately affects lower-to-middle income families.
You wouldn’t know it from the media, but Republican-led states are having economic success at a significantly higher rate than their counterparts. Take a look at the unemployment rate by state. The top 10 best performing states in the country for unemployment rates are all led by Republican governors. The bottom 10 all led by Democrats. Thankfully, Governor Ivey has kept Alabama open and done her part to combat the stringent federal policies the best she can. Alabama currently ranks 7th in the country for unemployment and had one of the fastest economic recoveries.
My background is in economic and workforce development. I’m running for Congress because I’ve seen first-hand how bad policies out of Washington keep businesses from growing. From higher taxes on small businesses, to burdensome regulations, and to disincentivizing work, we have to fight to reverse these Democrat-led policies. I believe in empowering people, not the government. Free markets and fiscal responsibility has led to more people moving up the economic ladder than any other system. You can count on me to do my job in Washington to fight the unacceptable Democratic policies, and make sure that socialism never finds a home in America.
John Roberts is a Republican candidate for Congress in Alabama’s fifth congressional district
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