VOICES: Biden’s agenda is bad for the Buckeye State

Ronna McDaniel is the Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. (CONTRIBUTED)

Ronna McDaniel is the Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. (CONTRIBUTED)

In February, Joe Biden came to Ohio to peddle his multitrillion-dollar spending bill. Biden’s reckless spending agenda is leaving Buckeye State families hurting with rising costs and paychecks worth less and less.

Look at the surging inflation facing Ohioans. While national consumer prices have risen a stunning 7.5% compared to last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ohio sits above the national average at nearly 8%. Wealthy elites might not notice a difference, but families feel the pinch. Rising prices are making everything more expensive, from food to gas to building supplies. Construction costs are already up 21% compared to last year, with experts predicting that home prices will rise around 5% in 2022. In Ohio, average home prices shot up more than 6% over the past year, with even one-bedroom apartments increasing above 28%. Meanwhile, gas prices continue to rise, and drivers in the Buckeye State could soon pay more than $4 per gallon. These price hikes are a crushing blow to hard working Ohioans.

To make matters worse, our supply chain crisis is dragging on, fueled by Democrat policies that paid workers to stay home during the pandemic and slashed the workforce. The crisis is causing prices to spike for basic materials like aluminum used in cars, plumbing and window frames. The shortage has already affected around a quarter of a million vehicles and cost around $3 billion just last year. These issues pose a real threat to Ohio jobs and the state’s economy.

The situation would be even worse if Biden had managed to force his unconstitutional vaccine mandate onto American businesses. Biden’s mandates threatened more than 1.8 million Ohio jobs — nearly 33% of the workforce. And based on the Biden administration’s own estimates, complying with this mandate would have cost Ohio businesses at least $104 million. In an economy already suffering from a worker shortage, a vaccine mandate would have only crippled the state even more.

That’s why Ohio helped lead the charge against the federal vaccine mandate, which State Attorney General Ben Flowers fought at the U.S. Supreme Court alongside the Republican National Committee and our allies. Companies all over Ohio banded together to push back against the mandate. And in an effort to jumpstart the economy, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine worked to end Biden’s “enhanced” unemployment benefits early – a move that helped get workers back on the job and small businesses rehiring. This is the Republican, commonsense leadership Ohio needs as the state recovers from the pandemic’s toll.

The truth is, Biden has done everything he can to undermine Ohio’s economic recovery. Far from helping Buckeye workers and businesses, Biden has slammed them with record inflation and a disastrous supply chain crisis. And Ohio families know it. Biden lost Ohio by eight points in 2020, and his approval rating currently sits at an embarrassing 30% in the state.

Republicans offer an alternative. We’re taking our message of economic opportunity and individual freedom to new voters by opening local offices like our Black American Community Center in Cleveland. We’re fighting for safer neighborhoods and expanded school choice. And we’re building a grassroots army of election integrity directors in Ohio and 17 other states to ensure free, fair and transparent elections.

Biden will try to take credit for the Buckeye State’s recovery, but any progress we’ve seen is in spite of his policies — not because of them. Ohio Republican leadership delivers, while Biden and the Democrats work against Ohioans.

Ronna McDaniel is chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.

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