I’ve only recently begun working for the state of Maine. I’ve also recently been watching the Republican Party’s decline, under President Trump, into a relentless vehicle for undermining working Americans and funneling national wealth into the hands of a very few of the richest corporations and individuals.

As a new state employee, I can’t afford health insurance for my family. It makes me grateful for MaineCare, but also painfully aware that a full-time job should cover the basic necessities of life, and it just doesn’t. My children will soon graduate into the grim reality of a workforce that is increasingly subjugated entirely to the whims of the very wealthy. I know that’s Trump’s vision for the nation, but why can’t we do better in Maine?

I am confident that midterms will bring consequences for Republicans, and that Democrats will have the chance to repair the extensive destruction Republicans are waging on our institutions and infrastructure. It will be an enormous opportunity — and an enormous responsibility — and I hope every lawmaker will keep the reality of our economic future front-of-mind.

Tax the rich. Strengthen unions. Invest in the working class. Close the wealth gap. Trickle-down economics is a cynical fiction. The true rising tide that raises all ships is a thriving middle class. Republicans will never invest in us, but Democrats have the chance to really make us a priority. If they do, their legacy will be restoring the American dream that is being stolen by a new age of robber barons.

Sydney Michalski
Columbia