President Joe Biden stood before Congress and the American people Tuesday night and told us the state of the union is “strong.” He cited efforts to curb inflation, noted the number of jobs recovered and pointed to the Hispanic unemployment rate, which hit a record low in September.
But the president didn’t share the whole story.
Despite low unemployment — which speaks more to the resilience of the Hispanic community than the success of the Biden administration — the past few years have been a rough ride. And the president’s agenda of higher taxes, increased spending, greater regulation and more mandates from Washington would make things worse, not better.
Here’s a real look at the state of the union for Hispanic Americans and an agenda for effective reform.
The COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic period delivered an economic shock we’re still contending with. Our community was hit hard by high inflation and felt the negative effects more than the average American — indeed, that gap widened. Looking at inflation since Biden took office, the situation is bleak. Regardless of recent declines, the inflation that’s already occurred will cost the average American household nearly $9,000 between October 2022 and October 2023.
In addition to paying higher costs, Hispanics are less likely to have seen a doctor or other health provider over the past year and less likely to receive preventive care.
To remedy this, Congress should increase access and quality. Lawmakers should enact a personal option for health care that includes expanding access to tax-free health savings accounts and extending patient choice and control by guaranteeing direct primary care via the bipartisan Primary Care Enhancement Act. Americans who pay health providers directly rather than through insurers shouldn’t be dinged for doing so.
In pursuit of greater competition, and by extension accountability and affordability, important reform efforts include: removing Medicare’s ban on physician-owned hospitals; authorizing association health plans, which offer more affordable options for employees and small businesses; and expanding telehealth access and flexibility for employers to provide telehealth benefits.
High unemployment, soaring inflation and labor shortages that struck every sector of the economy hit the Hispanic community especially hard. Leisure and hospitality, which saw the largest employment decline during the pandemic, is an industry with a large percentage of Hispanic workers.
Yet despite the many hurdles our community faced during the pandemic and faces in the recovery, it remains a leader in labor-force participation and the most entrepreneurial group in the country even as access to capital remains a challenge. Recent data show Latinos contribute nearly $3 trillion to the US gross domestic product — and have the highest GDP growth rate. If we were a country, we’d have the fifth largest economy in the world.
The first step in enabling continued economic growth and success for Hispanics and all Americans is to get inflation under control by reducing Washington’s out-of-control spending. Good intentions are not enough. Congress needs to change the way it does business by creating a unified budget that ensures all spending and all revenue is accounted for in one annual bill.
Washington can promote economic growth and boost employment opportunities by making permanent the small business and family tax cuts enacted in 2017.
Passing the Small Entrepreneurs’ Empowerment and Development Act and Unlocking Capital for Small Businesses Act would improve Hispanic entrepreneurs’ access to capital by reducing regulatory burdens.
Passing the Employee Rights Act would give people more flexibility and freedom in their jobs — including entrepreneurs and independent contractors taking advantage of the gig economy.
We are a resilient community. Hispanic unemployment returned to pre-pandemic levels. Businesses are bouncing back.
We don’t want special favors. The best way to harness the economic power and strength of the Hispanic community is for Congress to pass common-sense legislation that empowers individuals and families to pursue their version of the American Dream.
Isabel Soto is policy director at The LIBRE Initiative.
