We congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on their victory, and we’re heartened to see COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity, and climate change as the top four priorities listed on the transition team’s website. Those priorities signal a welcome change from what has been a failed federal response to worsening crises that have gripped our nation over the past several years, and which have only grown worse during the pandemic.
Now that the election is behind us, we look forward to working with the incoming Administration on a national response plan that centers the people who have been most affected by the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic. While many state and local governments have stepped up to assist local businesses and communities, the federal response to this economic crisis has been an abject failure. From small business owners struggling to stay afloat to students forced to learn from home without broadband to front-line workers risking their health to earn a paycheck, too many Americans have been asked to confront the historic challenges of COVID-19 without help or guidance from our federal government. That has been especially true in communities of color, who have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 and the recession.
If we are going to rescue our economy and re-assert basic fairness into our democracy, we must challenge the outsize power and influence wielded by monopoly companies. While the Big Tech hearings and House antitrust report spotlighted monopoly abuses at Amazon, Google, and other tech giants, America’s monopoly problem extends into many other sectors of the economy, from energy to broadband to waste and recycling. The power and wealth of these massive companies has been increasing steadily over the past several years. The largest among them have experienced unprecedented growth during the pandemic and are exploiting their dominance to crush competitors and monopolize markets.
As we move ahead to face the enormous challenges facing our country, ILSR will continue to advocate for solutions that center local communities and empower local citizens. We look forward to working with our allies across the country to build an American economy driven by local priorities and accountable to people and the planet.
