To the Editor:
Given his troublesome vote, Senator Joe Manchin must want a Build Back Cheaper Bill. But that attitude fails because big problems demand big solutions. When our Revolutionary ancestors faced the world’s fiercest nation, they shouted, “Give me liberty or give me death,” not “Give me liberty unless it’s too pricy.” We would have failed to defeat the Nazi threat if we tried to fight on the cheap. War is costly but our ancestors faced a stark choice: pay now, or pay more later. They paid because they faced clear and present dangers. The price of victory is high, but the price of failure is higher and longer-lasting.
Our ancestors recognized emergencies and willingly paid because they knew cheap efforts fail. They knew we must act as one nation when we face a crisis. With over 800,000 dead, millions suffering from Delta and Omicron variants, and long-term Covid we too know a crisis.
Some might ask what does the Build Back Better Bill have to do with Covid? I respectfully quote a Clinton-era comment, “It is the economy, stupid.” While the Covid nightmare has crushed our economy, infrastructure projects infuse money now just when we need it. If workers can’t take these new jobs because they have children, then we must follow other great nations and offer affordable day-care. This costs us something now, but it quickly pays for itself. Notice how our economy boomed after WWII. Our economic pump needs priming to make it work.
Our liberty is worth it.
John Atherton
Dover, N.H.
John:
If only you were Joe Manchin’s Chief of Staff—and had the power to overrule your boss!
The Editor
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