For the last six-plus years, we have faced what feels like crisis after crisis. During this period, we also found ourselves in a society where some citizens believe in alternate “truths” and fictional
versions of reality. As a result, we have seen far too many times how ignorance breeds fear, which can lead to hate that, left unchecked, can – AND HAS – resulted in violence in our country.
We encourage you to pause and remember the last six years as you prepare to vote. We had a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, accompanied by violence and division over science and ways to combat this unknown germ. We experienced constant chaos, encouraged by the former president, who seems to see every event as a chance to skim money into his pocket and every interaction as an opportunity to demonstrate his power while promoting incivility. We saw bigotry, intolerance, and outright nastiness aimed at minority populations, as well as divisions based on race, gender, religion, orientation, and on and on. And we see almost daily reminders that one of the two major political parties is focusing its energy on devising rules that would ensure they remain in power – at any cost and with little regard for the truth or the rights of ALL American citizens.
Elections are choices between policies; between ways to address the issues facing the population. The differences between the parties (and their candidates) this year seem blindingly clear to us;
this is an election that is a study in contrast. Only one party is proposing solutions; only one party has a platform. The other party won’t commit to anything now; we must wait until they are elected. Why is this tolerated? These politicians have forgotten that they work for us.
Inflation is an overwhelming concern for everyone this year. And by everyone, we mean worldwide. There are many causes of inflation, and no one solution works every time. We are lucky; the British, the EU, and many more countries have higher inflation rates than we do. Global interdependence exacerbates this problem, as do the actions of nations hostile to the US and the West – e.g., using oil/energy to back democratic leaders into a corner, indirectly yet purposefully supporting the authoritarian wannabes throughout the world.
On the one hand, in response to the international dilemma of inflation, the Democrats passed, without one Republican vote, the Inflation Reduction Act, designed to cut medical and other costs and to create more jobs (in addition to those created by the bipartisan Infrastructure Act). This will raise the standard of living for more Americans.
On the other hand, the Republican response is a tired, old solution that has never, ever worked: Supply-side economics, which gives enormous tax cuts to the wealthiest people and corporations in the always-failed hope that the benefits of more money to already-rich people will “trickle down” to create jobs, opportunity, and more wealth. Even David Stockman, its creator, gave up on it in the 1980s. And yet, this deeply flawed economic policy is still the Republican prescription for global inflation. Interested in a current, real-world example of this policy and its effect on working families? Look at the UK right now: The new prime minister put those Republican policies in place, the economy collapsed, and the prime minister was forced to resign. By her own party.
You choose.
The contrasts on responses to other policy issues are equally stark. From reproductive choice to gun safety to climate change to individual rights to democracy itself, we will choose between a party with a plan to broaden the choices and rights of individuals and a party stuck in the regressive, discriminative policies of the past. You can effect change.
You choose.
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The Steady State is a group made up of retired national security officials who served the United States in multiple agencies in the US government. We have seen, studied, and worked abasing threats to the United States for decades. And we are determined to keep working against threats to the US.
