Rep. Joyce Weston: Some good news for the New Year

To The Daily Sun,

We have had a year of bad news, languishing, and depression. So let’s start the new year with some positive messages.

Better broadband is coming to New Hampshire. Congress passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that will get broadband to places that still don’t have it, like pockets of homes in our area. And, in addition, we’ll get a lot of bridges and roads repaired.

Wages in America are growing at about 4% a year (compared with less than 1% a year in the Eurozone), as worker shortages push wages up. This helps women workers in particular, in low-wage jobs in our tourist industry.

The Biden administration has created 4.1 million jobs — more than were created in the 12 years of the Donald Trump and George W. Bush administrations combined.

Child poverty has been cut in half through the Democrats’ American Rescue Plan — putting $66 billion into 36 million households. Think of all the kids who no longer go to bed hungry.

We are leading the world in economic growth ... U.S. economic output has jumped more than 7% in the last three months of 2021. Overall growth for 2021 is around 6%, and economists predict growth of around 4% in 2022 —the highest numbers the U.S. has seen in decades. China’s growth in the same period will be 4%, and the Eurozone will grow at 2%. “America’s economy improved more in Joe Biden’s first 12 months than any president during the past 50 years,” Matthew Winkler, Bloomberg.

The Affordable Care Act has raised the total number of Americans who have health care coverage to a record 13.6 million. Of that number, 4.6 million were added by the ACA. Obamacare works.

And finally, it looks like the current spike of omicron might be waning soon. We now have beautiful snow, and the ski areas are selling out. Tourism is back ...

Lots to be thankful for in the New Year.

Rep. Joyce Weston

Grafton 8 — Hebron, Holderness, Plymouth