A good economy is one that uses resources wisely to maximize the welfare of the entire society. An entire society of happy, healthy and financially secure people are like the foundation of a house made of many strong stones. An economy, like a house, built upon this strong foundation is sustainable and able to “weather the storms.”

It requires wise governing, the kind of governing we can expect from a Joe Biden presidency supported by congress people like Tracy Mitrano.

The current economy is not a good economy. It uses the government’s resources, tax breaks, subsidies and deregulation, unwisely to maximizes the welfare of a small sector of society, the rich.

Its foundation is weak. When the storms came, literally, climate changed related natural disasters, and figuratively. COVID-19 this economy collapsed. Now the president and his congressional cronies such as U.S. Rep. Tom Reed plan to continue this unsustainable economy

We needs a better plan. A plan that will create a good, sustainable economy one that will help us recover from the current storm and prepare us to weather all future storms. Tracy Mitrano states “While there is no magic recipe for economic recovery we do know a few ingredients that must be a part of the formula.” These key ingredients are inherent in Biden’s “Build Back Better” economic plan.

¯ Better education — Strengthen our education system. Funds for K-12 public schools that support the hiring of skillful well paid teachers. Make higher education more affordable with financial support for low income students.

¯ Better health care — Create a healthy society. Insure that everyone has affordable adequate health care.

¯ Better infrastructure — Enhance the ability to move goods, people and information to all parts of America. Build and maintain transportation infrastructure. Provide high speed internet to rural communities so that small town businesses and family farms can compete on the market.

¯ Better environment — Prevent the wasteful, unhealthy exploitation of our natural resources and destructive climate change related events. Let the EPA and other agencies do their jobs. Promote renewable energy. Join the global fight to slow climate change. All of which will create countless “green” jobs.

¯ Better American business — Give American companies and workers the tools they need to compete in the domestic and foreign free markets. Provide federal loans targeted for qualified small – medium American companies. Fund Research and Development.

¯ Taxation — See that everyone pays a fair tax by eliminating unfair tax breaks for the wealthy.

It is obvious to me and hopefully to you that if we want a better economy, a good economy that maximizes everyone’s welfare and can “weather the storms” we should elect leaders with a plan that will build one.

Christine Nelson-Scherman is a Conewango Valley resident.