Hope For The Future We Deserve - Dylan Conley
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
This pandemic has made me more hopeful for my future than I have ever been in my entire life because it has inarguably exposed the weaknesses in our system to the point that there is a consensus for change. This is why I was compelled to run for Congress.
The pandemic has obliterated the idea that the only thing worse than the way things are, is change. Right now, we see change as a prerequisite to getting out of this mess. The status quo is literally killing us while simultaneously destroying our economy. Deaths from systemic racism, despair, opioids, lack of adequate healthcare, the financial inability to stay safe or maintain a stable home can no longer be ignored. Families living paycheck to paycheck during mass unemployment can no longer be ignored. Small businesses on the verge of collapse can no longer be ignored.
Here’s the thing. These aren't new problems. They’re old problems that have festered as Congress has failed to lead us to solutions. But the pandemic has forced them all to the surface and highlighted the immediate need for us to address all of them. The fact that we can no longer ignore our problems has energized me like never before.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis election, which can bring us unified national government twinned with an unprecedented social mandate for change, is a once-in-a-century opportunity to reconfigure our system to support working-class families and small businesses instead of billionaires and mega-corporations.
To stabilize families and small businesses during the pandemic, we need a regular monthly stimulus until we can unfreeze our economy. Meanwhile, to solidify the foundation of our economy, we can shift from inefficient “trickle-down” economics to what I call “gush-up” economics. We can support working families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit as well as the Child Tax Credit. Medicare for All will decouple employment and healthcare so small businesses and working families have more cash on hand. We can establish a tax credit for all primary housing costs and decrease taxes for income below the poverty line while shifting payroll taxes to corporations and raising the minimum wage.
Each of these policies can help average Americans bring home more money. Together, we can provide stability for everyone fighting paycheck to paycheck. In aggregate, these policies will create a large pool of money that can be spent in our local economy on our small businesses. Average Americans don’t stash their money in some offshore tax haven, we spend it right here at home. Together, we will create a positive feedback loop of people being able to spend money on local business which increases local business spending within the community. Gush-up economics is an economic boon for everyone.
Right now, our American reality doesn’t live up to our American ideals. Our health and wealth can be predicted by our zip code, gender, race, and sexuality instead of our own decisions or our own work ethic. True freedom is only born from true economic equity. A gush-up economy can give all Americans a better chance to pursue happiness and a strong economic baseline will have strong impacts on our health and education.
The power and energy of this moment in time is special. People are ready for change in a way that I have never experienced. I am running for Congress because that is where the most meaningful change can happen. This election is a unique opportunity for everyday Americans to come together and take the future we deserve. I’m ready.
Dylan Conley is a husband, father, small business owner, Chairman of the Providence Board of Licenses, appointed counsel for several municipalities, and candidate for Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District.
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