Inequality pre-dated this pandemic, but this pandemic laid it bare.
The last year and a half has been disastrous for poor and working Americans.
We have faced the loss of our livelihoods, we have seen our already overburdened schools stretched even more thin, we have seen essential, frontline workers put it all on the line and little, if anything, in return.
It is not enough to simply go back to where we were prior to the pandemic. We need to build a stronger economy that leaves no one behind.
We need to build back better.
(Above) Low wage workers, such as those in the food industry, fortunate enough to work during the pandemic did so at risk to their own health, usually for low pay and with not sick or family leave.
Image credit: “diner” by lert is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
(Above) The US Capital building in Washington, DC, where this historic investment will…. or won’t… be made. Make sure your congressperson is on the right side of history!
Image credit: “The US Capital Building” by {Wes} is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Why is this week so important?
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that the House will vote this week on a transformative economic package and a major investment in infrastructure.
Congress faces a choice: Will they advance the entirety of an agenda that gets ALL American families the help they need, or deliver only a fraction of it?
The Congressional Progressive Caucus has said that they will vote for the infrastructure bill only after the Build Back Better Act is passed (through the budget reconciliation process).
WE NEED ALL OF IT AND EVERY SINGLE CONGRESSIONAL VOTE COUNTS TO GET THESE TO PASS.
We want it all.
We aren’t greedy, we are just fed up. What’s more, we are pragmatic.
Truth is, parents can’t get back to work because they can’t afford child care. Young folks are angry that our elected officials keep kicking the can down the road on developing a real plan to address climate change. People in our own families can’t even afford the prescription drugs they need, and are making dangerous choices between paying their electrical bill and buying their medication.
The FULL Build Back Better agenda addresses all of this… and so much more. This economy and system has been upside down a long time now and we need to flip it around. From investing in the care economy to broadband to our roads and bridges, Build Back Better would allow us to not just get back on track… but to speed ahead.
From childcare to home health care, Build Back Better would make important investments into the care economy.
But the wealthy and big corporations are trying to stop us.
Right now, corporations and the ultrarich are spending millions to derail the Build Back Better plan. They want to keep the trillion-dollar tax cuts Trump gave them so they can reap obscene profits year after year at our expense.
The wealthy and corporate lobbyists are working behind the scenes to make their pandemic windfalls permanent and keep our elected officials from taking action to restore our communities. The people who profit the most should pay their fair share to get this country back on its feet. Corporate profits are soaring right now, and billionaires in the U.S. got 62 percent richer during the pandemic while the rest of us suffered. Instead of paying their workers more, corporations are spending millions to stop Congress from making them do their part.
This is a power grab. Corporate America wants to make inequity a permanent part of American life. Why? Because it works for them. But it doesn’t work for us.
Time for you to make your move. Contact Congress TODAY.
