OPINION: A Time For Choosing

Does this sound familiar?

“It’s too expensive.”

“I cannot afford to pay my bills.”

“I fear for the future.”

We’ve all said, muttered, thought, and dreamed the words.

For the last four years, high taxes and inflation (a hidden tax we never voted on), have taken more than a bite out of already-overtaxed Nevadans, costing the average family an extra $32,000 — or nearly $1,200 a month. The silent inflation “tax” hits us every time we go to the grocery store, pump gas in our cars, and cut corners on a much-needed family vacation. It’s a tax none of us choose, but all must pay.

If you feel that you have been unfairly overburdened by the high cost of inflation, you are not alone. According to a June 2022 Federal Reserve Bank of New York report, “inflation has risen sharply overall and especially for Black and Hispanic Americans.” Because inflation has increased the price of daily economic staples, including groceries, gas, and housing, the hidden tax hits average Latino families hardest.

Recent polling revealed that 75 percent of Hispanic voters think the country is on the wrong track, and nearly two-thirds say the economy is getting worse. Most Hispanic voters are most concerned with the economy, inflation, and jobs. In spite of that, Senator Jacky Rosen has played a key role in getting harmful economic policies through Congress, including excessive government spending, corporate handouts, and more inflation. While many Latinos still believe in the promise of America and the prospects of achieving the American Dream of financial security, freedom, good jobs, and their own home, the road seems darker today than ever.

Fear not: Economic recovery is ahead if we reset our economic GPS and follow a new pathway to prosperity. This pathway is paved by pivoting from burdensome, broken government proposals to freedom solutions, which includes fixing our broken budget process, increasing access to work, respecting worker freedom and choice, reforming our immigration system, allowing school choice to flourish, giving people health care that works for them, and cutting out unnecessary regulations.

The upcoming election gives us in Nevadans an unprecedented opportunity to make our voices heard. Nevada is one of a handful of battleground states that will determine both the next President of the United States and control of the U.S. Senate.

According to the Pew Research Center, an estimated 36.2 million Latinos are eligible to vote in this year’s election. The eligible Latino voter population is growing at lightning speed. In fact, the same study found that about 1.4 million Hispanics become eligible to vote every year.

If you’ve felt helpless about rebuilding your life, your financial prospects, and your country, hear my plea: Your vote in November has the power to change this nation’s future – for good.

The key is not just exercising your own right to vote, but educating and empowering your family, friends, and neighbors, and encouraging them to join you at the polls.

This is our time for choosing.