Letter: President Biden’s policies are hurting Routt County workers, business owners

December 27, 2021 – Earlier this month, a letter to the editor attempted to relieve President Joe Biden of responsibility for the highest inflation in 40 years. Another letter touted the U.S. having a “positive trajectory under President Biden.” Nothing could be further from the truth. There are many failures of the Biden-Harris administration to list, but here are the salient ones that most impact the citizens of Routt County.

• The federal government has been risking high inflation for years, not just under President Biden. However, the president and the Democrat-controlled Congress ushered through $1.9 trillion in unnecessary additional spending for COVID-19 relief on top of the unspent billions of dollars for COVID relief in 2020. All warnings of inflation were ignored and instead, they doubled down.

• The Biden-Harris administration has effectively opened the southern border by limiting enforcement and canceling the border wall. Over the past 11 months, countless illegal immigrants from hundreds of nations, including Syria and Iran, have been apprehended at the border. Many of those apprehended are known criminals, including those convicted of sexual assault, child abuse, and murder. Many of these illegal immigrants have escaped into the U.S.

• The open border has resulted in rampant drug trafficking, including Fentanyl, one of the deadliest drugs on the street. This year, authorities at the southern border confiscated more than 11,000 pounds of Fentanyl, up from 2,150 in 2020. According to a study by Families Against Fentanyl, overdose on the drug is now the No. 1 cause of death for ages 18-45. This surpasses suicide, traffic accidents, and gun violence.

President Biden continues to pursue vaccine and mask mandates despite their divisiveness and legal challenges. His actions continue to stymie businesses and corporations, instilling uncertainty into the economy and preventing growth in the labor market. Today’s labor participation rate is 61.8%. By comparison, the labor participation rate on Jan. 1, 2020, was 63.4%.

This is only a positive trajectory in an upside-down world and is reflected in President Biden’s job performance, below 45% since August. While this trajectory might not directly impact the quality of Steamboat Springs’ affluent class, it certainly impacts the business owners and working class in Routt County.

Pete Wood – Steamboat Springs

PUBLISHED SOURCE: Steamboat Pilot & Today