Building A Colorado With Options For All
We Must Bridge The Economic Gap
The version of America promised to those who live here tells of a future rife with opportunity. Most people want many of the same things: the ability to afford the basics, to save for college and to retire with dignity.
As our country has grown, we have failed to keep the promise of the American Dream within reach for anyone other than those who occupy the top of the financial hierarchy. Our problem with economic inequality is not simply a sign of growing pains in a relatively young country, it is a sign of a moral failure of generations of leaders who, when given the chance to democratize the American Dream, chose instead to tilt the scales in favor of those who needed it the least.
Most Coloradans don’t need to read any set of statistics to know that economic inequality is a growing problem because they live with the consequences every single day. Hard-working people in this state put in more and more hours at their jobs just to bring home paychecks that cover less and less.
As the average worker struggles to stretch their seemingly shrinking earnings, CEOs are compensated around 361 times more than the average worker, compared to just 20 times the salary of their typical employees in the 1950s. No one needs to earn $19 million a year to have a good life, yet C-Suite occupants routinely earn eight-figure salaries at the expense of everyone else below them.
And yet, economic inequality is not a one-size-fits-all issue that affects every group in the same way.
Due to the bias enshrined in public policy, many people of color across Colorado are still miles away from living a life that even resembles the American Dream. African Americans have to complete both high school and some college in order to have wealth comparable to their white counterparts who have dropped out of high school. African American, Latinx and Native women have to work significantly more hours in a week just to take home the same amount of money as white men.
The wealth gap will continue to grow the longer we turn a blind eye to the existential threat many Coloradans face because they simply do not make enough money. Our future doesn’t have to be one where only a select few get to live with dignity. Reversing our course and closing the economic gap between the rich and the poor is possible.
In the Colorado legislature this year, we passed plenty of bills that put more people in reach of their goals. I sponsored a successful bill this session that allows those who are late on rent to have a more generous window to avoid the eviction and prioritized the passage of my bill to provide Paid Family Medical Leave. I also passed a bill that will help historically underutilized businesses have their fair shot at competing in the open market.
Sooner than we think, the United States will be a majority minority country. Our economic health depends on whether or not we choose to reverse the policies that put people of color in economically perilous situations in the first place.
As we allow working people in our communities to suffer the consequences of financial inequality, our economy will soon follow. The 2019 Legislative session here in Colorado proves that making progress on the seemingly insurmountable issue of economic inequality is entirely possible. Financial stability, the opportunity to save for college, and retiring with dignity are not just privileges that only the highest earners should be allowed to enjoy.
Angela Williams represents District 33, which includes Park Hill, in the Colorado State Senate. She can be contacted at 303-866-4864. This year’s legislative session adjourned on May 3.