I believe that most of us in Southwest Michigan share a common set of goals for our community — high quality education, good-paying jobs, affordable health care, and equal justice under the law. Where we sometimes disagree is on the best ways to achieve these goals.

Recently, a group of us from the Berrien County Democratic Party gathered to discuss and refine our positions on how we can best achieve our common goals. I would like to share some of what we came up with:

1. Provide every child with an equal opportunity to be enrolled in high-quality preschool, which has been shown to greatly increase academic success in later years.

2. Ensure that every college student is able to graduate from a two or four-year college without having to take on crippling debt.

3. Build the middle class by creating good-paying jobs and high-quality job training programs.

4. Reward companies that keep jobs in the U.S.A. and penalize companies that ship jobs overseas.

5. Reduce the federal deficit by closing unfair tax loopholes exploited by the rich, and by eliminating corporate welfare.

6. Guarantee that every American has access to affordable health insurance.

7. Support the voting rights of every citizen and promote laws making voting as accessible as possible.

8. Insist on fair and equal treatment for everyone by all members of the criminal justice system.

In addition to supporting these positive actions, we oppose the discredited “trickle-down” economic theory favored by many Republicans. This approach has greatly added to the wealth of the richest Americans, while eroding the economic well-being of the middle class. Increasing inequality favoring the top 1 percent is unhealthy for our economy and our democracy.

These are but a few examples of Democrats’ positions on a variety of issues. In the coming weeks and months I, along with other members of the Berrien County Democratic Party, look forward to discussing these issues, as well as many others, with as many people as possible in our community — including Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. We welcome the opportunity to hear everyone’s voice as they air the concerns that are uppermost in their minds.

Those who wish to join us in addressing these and other issues are encouraged to contact me online atChair@BCDemocrats.org or by phone at (269) 428-1710.

 

Dr. Eric Lester

St. Joseph, Michigan