By Jay Webber
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We are less than a week from Election Day and I hope you will join me on November 6th with a vote for opportunity, growth, and prosperity.
Our message is a hopeful and optimistic one that prizes people over bureaucracy, and economic freedom over government interference. We favor paychecks over food stamps. We value the dignity of work rather than dependency on government. We believe in empowerment, not entitlement. We believe no challenge faced by our country is too big to overcome with strong leadership and policies that empower American workers and entrepreneurs.
And our vision for America is working. Because we cut taxes and red tape, unemployment is at a 49-year low. Because we have encouraged businesses to invest in America again, wages are up, bonuses are back, and consumer confidence is high. And because we know that a rising tide lifts all boats, African American and Hispanic unemployment figures are at record lows.
That’s just some of the good news we see in our economic numbers every day. But there’s more to an economy, and to a country, than numbers. We know that behind every statistic is a story. Every time we reduce the unemployment rate, more families are sending their daughters and sons to college. Every tick up in GDP growth represents more mortgage payments made, more small businesses created, more new houses started, and more American dreams fulfilled. That is why the issues we debate in our campaigns are so important.
And that is why I have championed, and will continue to champion, the kind of policies that enable those dreams to become a reality. I will fight to reinstate the SALT deduction, and expand tax cuts that encourage work, investment, and smart risk-taking. Know that I will work with anyone, of any party, to help overcome the barriers that stand between our nation and its promise of a better life for anyone who wants to work hard and play by the rules.
After all the economic progress we’ve made, all the opportunities we’ve created, and all the momentum we are building, why would anyone want to reverse course? For some inexplicable reason, that’s what my opponent promises to do. It bespeaks a pessimism on her part that rejects the economic reality we are enjoying, and chooses ideology over sound policy.
Even as good people work together toward a freer and more prosperous society, we will always prioritize the value of equality, and the protection of the most vulnerable.
I am the grateful grandson of two working grandmothers, and a working mom. I am the fortunate husband of a Harvard-trained lawyer, and the proud father of four beautiful daughters. I not only believe equal pay for equal work should be the law of the land – and I’m thankful that it is – but I also have actually created jobs for working moms in the private sector, with a fair and flexible schedule that helps them balance their many important commitments the way they choose to balance them.
And on the issue of public corruption, now, more than ever, with New Jersey suffering through the reign of Senator Bob Menendez, we need public officials who will stand up for what’s right. My opponent’s decision to embrace Menendez enthusiastically is one that should concern all of us. Before my opponent is even in office, she is showing that she is beholden to party elites and party lines, rather than demonstrating a commitment to good government.
I invite all citizens of the 11thCongressional District, whether you are Republican, Democrat, or Independent, to reject the pessimism and cynicism of my opponent, and join our movement. In the United States, there is nothing that holds us back, no limit that keeps us down, except those that we allow to be placed on us. I am committed to creating and expanding opportunities for every American, and I hope you are too.
If you care about making sure America remains the kind of opportunity society our mothers and fathers handed us, and the kind of place our children and grandchildren deserve to inherit, then please join us on Election Day.
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Jay Webber is running for Congress in the 11thCongressional District. He is a husband and father of seven.
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