OPINION:
What a difference just one year can make.
On Jan. 3, 2021, Democrat majorities in the House and Senate were sworn in. On Jan. 20, 2021, President Biden was inaugurated. At that time, inflation was 1.4%. One year later inflation is at 7%, the highest in 40 years, forcing American families to pay higher prices for food, clothing, household utilities and gasoline. And it is not going to get any better, as the latest producer price index numbers hit 9.7%, the highest increase on record.
Yet, in Washington, instead of making any effort to reduce inflation, Congressional Democrats have prioritized politicizing the riot at the U.S. Capitol through their sham Jan. 6 commission.
In Chicago and other cities across America, moms and dads are once again waking up to find out that their children’s schools are not reopening because teachers refuse to go back to the classroom. This is happening despite indisputable evidence of the loss of learning and emotional trauma experienced by children because of the COVID-19 school lockdowns.
Yet, in Washington, the top issue for Democrats in the House and Senate and for Mr. Biden is a bill passed to federalize elections that they think will ensure them permanent control of the government. Despite all their promises, this should make it clear to everyone that they care more about maintaining their power than about helping the American people.
Despite all the promises made by Mr. Biden and the Democrats in Congress to advance control of the COVID-19 virus, it continues to spread and disrupt the lives of American families. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more Americans died from coronavirus in 2021 than in 2020, and millions are currently infected with the omicron variant. In fact, last year, about 13% of all deaths in the U.S. were related to coronavirus. Additionally, even though there are effective therapeutic treatment options, due to mismanagement by the Biden Administration, those medicines are in short supply, as are supplies of rapid test kits.
One year after Democrats gained full control of Congress and the White House, in some American cities, citizens are shopping in stores where business owners have boarded up their windows to stop their businesses from being ransacked. In San Francisco and other left-wing governed cities, people are leaving their vehicles unlocked and with signs informing would-be robbers that there is nothing of value inside. In a growing number of American cities, residents are concerned about rampant crime that threatens the safety and security of their communities and their families. In 2021, 12 American cities set new records for murders. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago had over 800 murders, the highest number in 25 years. On top of this, in most of these Democrat-governed cities, funding for law enforcement was cut or redirected, which many Democrats in Congress urged.
Nationwide, in practically every big city and small town, businesses are closing because they cannot find workers. Meanwhile, in Washington, the Democrats in Congress and the Biden administration have attempted to impose mandates that threaten the workforce. Thankfully, the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate was a huge reprieve for struggling American businesses.
All this considered, it should be no surprise that after one year of the policies of the Biden administration and Democrat majorities in Congress, most Americans now realize our nation is going in the wrong direction.
Yet, the Democrat leadership in the House and Senate is demonstrating that it has no intention of doing anything to lower inflation, such as reopening our energy resources to bring down energy prices. Its efforts to deal with COVID-19 continue to range between hapless and hopeless. Its “woke” decisions to defund law enforcement have led to some of the highest murder rates ever recorded as millions of Americans fear for their safety in their communities.
After one year of Democrat control of Congress and the White House, more and more Americans are now “woke” to the fact that the Democrats running our government are doing nothing to bring down inflation, to reopen schools or to secure our borders. Democrats and Biden are doing little to reduce the number of drug overdose deaths, make our cities and communities safer or effectively deal with COVID-19. That is because the Democrats and Biden are more focused on staying in power than they are about making our country safer, healthier and more prosperous. Now in 2022, Americans realize what a difference one election can make in just one year.
• Gary Palmer represents Alabama’s 6th Congressional District.
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