Nine Years after Super Storm Sandy Long Island Needs Build Back Better
The 9th anniversary of Super Storm Sandy is Friday October 29th. Nine years later and some Long Islanders are still trying to rebuild. Nine years later and many Long Islanders are still struggling with the same issues that they were facing before Sandy. The high cost of living, low wages, crumbling infrastructure, cost of prescription drugs and unfair taxes, access to healthcare and housing.
Everyone except the elite and the wealthy whose fortunes increased by $3.9T during the pandemic seem to understand if we don’t do something now, things are going to get a lot worse. The nation has experienced what worse could mean with the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown. With more frequent storms hitting Long Island, we get alerts from PSEG stating that we should expect to be without power for seven to ten days. We need better management of our utilities and updated infrastructure to withstand the disasters global warming is bringing.
When Isaias hit Long Island in 2020 and hundreds of thousands were without power, some residents lost expensive life saving medications. The cost to replace those medications didn’t go down in the last nine years, they’ve only gone up. AARP found that the price of prescription drugs have increased at a rate of 2.9% from last year alone, which is greater than the rate of inflation. The Rand Corporation released a study showing that Americans pay 2.5 times more for their prescriptions than compared to 32 other nations. The cost of one vial of insulin can be as high as $300, some diabetics need two to three vials a month. Americans are making choices between paying for life saving prescriptions or paying the rent.
With the cost of healthcare, prescription drugs, electricity, food, childcare, this regressive tax system that favors the ultra-wealthy leaves the working class struggling to survive. It’s no wonder many Long Islanders consider leaving. Even if some of us do seek some place less expensive, we can’t run from the costs for long. Climate change isn’t unique to Long Island, neither is the high cost of prescription drugs. The wealthy, whether they live in Seattle or the Hamptons, are still not paying their fair share in taxes. And access to healthcare is only going to get more expensive.
Friday the 29th on the boardwalk in Long Beach, Long Islanders will rally in support of the bi-partsen Build Back Better Act. The Build Back Better act can help the working and middle class of Long Island with the investment we need towards new and better infrastructure to deal with the effects of climate change. It can help lower drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription prices, which will save billions and allow for further expansion of Medicare allowing for dental, vision and even long term care. It will implement higher taxes on the wealthy and the corporations to help cover the costs of the other great programs that we need.
We are rallying not only to show our support but also to send a message to our wayward Congress Members, Kathleen Rice and Tom Suozzi, who have been hesitant to support the Build Back Better program. Kathleen Rice, especially, has sought to undermine lowering prescription drug prices when she voted against HR3, which would allow for this. If you want to see a better future for Long Island, let your Congress members and Senators know, vote yes on Build Back Better.
