Spring Message from the County Chair:
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I will start my message with a question, which I hope will resonate with many of you, and you as familiar. What has your political party done for you recently? My follow up question is: Am I better off today than yesterday?
I sincerely believe that we all are better off today in some big ways, thanks to the Democrats and our President Joe Biden. Yes, Democrats have delivered and Orleans County residents, our government, schools, and community organizations are the beneficiaries of needed resources which were not delivered during the previous administration. Soon we may choose to invest in Infrastructure, reducing taxes, choosing the priorities that we, the residents, see fit. What a change from the previous President’s efforts to give the top one percent of the income earners a tax cut while excusing themselves with that indemonstrable trope of trickle down. The number of those who now will benefit directly, those who truly build the value of our communities from the Democrat’s way is significantly larger than the 1%. The facts are that those who received the stimulus also return their benefits to the economy at a much higher rate than do those receiving the 1% tax reduction did when given the tax break. I don’t want to be smug, but before the other party starts to tell us how to spend the resources that their party didn’t claimed would ruin the nation, we must think. You and I, our communities and schools should be having a dialogue; we should think about how we feel the resources will be most beneficially spent. We can be proud of the Biden/ Harris team and this accomplishment. They were transparent and told the American people this was their priority and they delivered, without any Republican assistance. The local Republicans will want to guide the spending of the benefits to county and towns. I will hazard a guess that they won’t be any more progressive about the immigration or infrastructure initiatives either. I find it sad, that so many WPA bridges have needed repair for so long, and we haven’t been able to get them all fixed. I think we try to prioritize but resources have been scarce. Most of these bridges and the road decks were built with the New Deal; let’s not be afraid to replace and just not count on repairs. I hope we can also make the postal system, which is indeed infrastructure, more efficient with enhanced services, appropriate staffing levels and equipment needs met, and replacement of dated equipment with new high speed options and personnel training.
The beauty of “Building Back Better” is to realize that when this window closes it may be another 100 years so. Let’s get it done and done well. The state, town, and county highways or the parkway, now a scary checkerboard of car size pot holes and hazards all need substantial to be repairs and upgrades today. We will see if all western New York Congressman will rise to support these initiatives. A new Immigration policy is a vital part of securing and maintaining a consistent work force to assist our local farmers and recognize the workers who have come here for years. I hope the entire Congress will support immigration reform and the Agricultural Modernization Act.
We recently held a petition night for candidates in the upcoming races. I am thankful to all who came out and for everyone’s commitment. We have a wonderful group of thoughtful and dedicated individuals on the committee. We have spaces on most townships, so I invite any registered Democrats to join us. Check us out you may be excited and find it’s a great way to stay engaged.
We are starting to hit the sweet spot when it comes to vaccinations and I want to thank all of those like Jeanne and Aggie who have been working to increase the number of shots in arms in this county. We all have to wear masks and help others get connected and get shots. The sooner we have fewer people newly infected the faster we return to some semblance of our lives pre-Covid 19.
President Biden is continuing to promote his thoughtful, thorough agenda. The Infrastructure and jobs bill, along with his administrations’ vital initiatives, can bring real relief to western New York, with the freedom to make decisions tied to need, not greed and political cultism.
Respectfully Submitted
Jeffrey Lewis
Orleans County Democrat Committee Chair