Can I tell you a secret? It’s kind of a hot take.
I’ll just get out with it: sometimes I hate the way that we as Democrats talk about the economy. 😬
See, the thing is, we spend a lot of time pointing out how good things are—inflation is down! Jobs are up! GDP is soaring! Log onto Twitter (or, I guess, Threads, now?), find the average politician’s page, and scroll back a couple of weeks and you’ll see all of us crooning about the numbers so we can make sure everyone knows that the economy is actually in pretty decent shape. (And yes, that includes me.)
Now, don’t get me wrong—it’s important to talk about our successes. We’re still in the middle of recovering from one of the most disruptive economic events of our lifetimes, and there’s nothing wrong with celebrating how far we’ve come.
But here’s the thing: when the economy is really doing well, for everyone, you don’t have to tell people—they can see it for themselves. And if the people don’t seem to notice that our economy has been experiencing major, rapid growth unless we constantly remind them? Well, maybe we ought to take that as a sign that the folks at the bottom aren’t actually seeing the effects of that recovery.
And maybe that ought to worry us, just a little bit.
Lots of our state has been left behind—back in January, for example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics put out their annual data on jobs year-over-year. If you looked at the state as a whole, we were doing great! Jobs up 4.2%, and the fifth-fastest growth rate in the country. But when you drilled down to the local level, it became clear that most of that growth was concentrated in the big metro areas—and, in fact, the rural northeastern part of NC lost jobs rather than gaining them.
Maybe the economy is booming if you live in Charlotte. There are some folks out in Rocky Mount who might disagree. And when we focus on these macro trends, when we lose sight of all the places in our state that are getting left behind—places like the ones I grew up in—that’s when we lose people. That’s when we come off as out of touch, and that’s when we miss that, even if the house has a new coat of paint, the foundation is still riddled with termites.
We’ve built a system that concentrates growth at the top in the vain hope that it’ll eventually trickle down—but what we’ve seen, decade after decade, is that just isn’t how it works. And the result has been more economic anxiety for the folks at the bottom rung of the ladder as the gap between the haves and the have-nots grows, building resentment and division that puts a wedge between neighbors and eventually threatens the stability of our entire system.
Capitalism is the greatest economic system that humanity has thought of so far, but it requires competition to succeed. It requires a level playing field, not a government that tips the scales and funnels prosperity toward those who already have it. It requires buy-in and participation from each and every one of us. For capitalism to remain stable in the long-term, we depend on creating shared success—we depend on ensuring that it’s a system where hard work and ingenuity really do pay off. Where people have the opportunity to succeed.
Because otherwise, they lose hope. They lose faith. They stop participating, and then the system crumbles.
If we’re not careful, that’s the future we could be headed toward. But nothing is set in stone—we still have time to chart a different course: one where we understand what an incredible asset our people are, one where we see the contributions that every North Carolinian can make, and one where we work to level that playing field so that everyone has a fighting chance. But we’re not going to get there with the same old Republican leadership.
With your help, we can change our leadership. We can invest in our people. We can ensure that our economic growth is not just a statistic but a reality felt by all North Carolinians. We can work towards a future where opportunities are not limited by geography or circumstance, but where everyone, from the dirt roads to the bustling city streets, can thrive.
But to get there, I need you to step up and be a part of that change. Every dollar will help us spread our message further, reach additional voters, and bring us that much closer to winning next November. Can I count you in to help us fight for opportunity for every North Carolinian?
