Build Back Better addresses some economic and social inequities.

America’s capitalism defies gravity. The wealth it produces trickles up and market failure is endemic.

The myth that we are the richest, most democratic country in the world is perpetuated by a misrepresentation  of history. We didn’t create wealth: We took rich natural resources from Indigenous peoples and legalized human slavery, followed by decades of Jim Crow and now supplemented by economic slaves. These are people who do not earn a living wage.

In many U.S. cities, MIT says, a family of four must earn $68,808 a year to cover necessities. For certain, early settlers and immigrants worked very hard. Today, people born here and immigrants work hard. We expect the middle class to have financial security, yet they are doing everything right and barely treading water. Single parents would need an hourly salary of $34 to cover basic expenses. Build Back Better should do more, not less, to address economic and social inequities.

Jo Ann Myers
Waldoboro