Brunswick Beacon, 08.25.22
As the House of Representatives debated the Inflation Reduction Act last week, Republican Minority leader Kevin McCarthy rose in opposition. “Answer me this question,” he said, pausing dramatically and stroking his chin for effect, “Is America better off than they were two years ago?” Adopting, in the spirit of bipartisanship, McCarthy’s garbled grammar, the answer can only be “Yes, Kevin, yes they is!”
In August 2020 we were entering the depths of the worst pandemic in a century. COVID was out of control. We had no vaccines and were on our way to 4,000 American deaths each day when Trump left office.
Not to put too fine a point on it, Kevin, but there was a field hospital made from tents in New York’s Central Park. FEMA sent 85 refrigerated trucks so their trailers could serve as makeshift morgues. We couldn’t travel or see family. Kids couldn’t go to school. We were hoarding toilet paper, Kevin, and 2020 was the worst year for the economy since WWII. We lost 9.4 million jobs, the largest calendar-year job loss in history. Unemployment hit 14.8%, the highest since data collection began.
That was then. This is now. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan created a COVID vaccination program, delivered over 600 million free doses, and fully vaccinated 67% of Americans. It created 9.5 million jobs, the greatest job creation record in history.
Unemployment is 3.5%, the lowest it’s been in 50 years. Americans are back at work, kids are back in class, people can be together. They can even squeeze the Charmin’, Kevin!
No Republican voted for Biden’s American Rescue Plan or Inflation Reduction Act. Republicans like Ted Budd and David Rouzer even opposed the CHIPS Act, bringing microchip manufacturing back from China!
Here’s what McCarthy is really asking: “Can I bamboozle Americans?” The answer is “No, Kevin, no you can’t.”
Claudia Tidwell
Leland