By Shayan Abbasi
Disclosure: The writer of this article is a campaign intern for Congresswoman Michelle Steel.
Higher prices for goods and services have become a part of our post-Covid world. Whether it is groceries, energy costs or gas prices, one thing is for certain: prices for goods and services have risen drastically, putting a burden on Californians. The politicians in charge have failed to introduce legislation that lowers costs, and the consequences of it are more apparent now than ever.
Fountain Valley High School’s own Congressional representative is Michelle Steel, a vocal opponent against this out of control spending that contributes to inflation. A strong fighter for reducing costs and taxes for working families, we need to send her back to Congress so that she can continue serving District 45.
Immigrating from South Korea to the United States at a young age, she knows firsthand the value of hard work, as well as how crucial the immigrant experience is to the development of our country. She first got involved with politics because of an unfair tax law that her “non-English speaking mother couldn’t navigate.” As a result, she subsequently ran for the State Board of Equalization, and eventually became one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress. This is the kind of can-do attitude that gets things done, and is exactly what we need to see more of in the legislative process.
In an interview with Congresswoman Michelle Steel, she said that in order to reduce inflation, “you have to not spend, as [Congress] just did, with the reconciliation bill for $700 billion dollars.”
She refers to the Inflation Reduction Act, which became law back on Aug. 16th. According to a statement released by Steel, this bill “increases taxes on financial statement income on American businesses” by as much as $200 billion dollars, alongside hiring 87,000 new IRS agents and increased Green New Deal tax spending, which is essentially a climate proposal being billed under the Inflation Reduction Act. The Deal, however, is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating jobs, but increases the federal government’s power over the private sector and includes over $257 billion worth of more spending.
Simply put, this overspending is contributing to inflation. The best example of which is the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan which became law back in 2021. According to the Congressional Budget office, “the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” will not reduce inflation. In fact, this bill could slightly increase inflation in 2023.” The effect of this Act on inflation has been described as “negligent at best.” This is further corroborated by a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, which states that stimulus plans which in theory were meant to bring economic relief during the pandemic may have actually “contributed to this divergence by as much as 3 percentage points.” This divergence is, of course, referring to the inflation crisis our country is currently experiencing.
Earlier this year, Steel joined fellow Representative Mike Garcia and introduced the Inflation Prevention Act, which would help curb excessive spending. According to a press release by Congresswoman Steel, this act would “bar legislation that would be estimated to increase inflation until the year-over-year inflation rate drops below four and a half percent.” Essentially, the act prohibits government overspending when inflation gets too high (above four and a half percent).
Apart from the rate of inflation being the highest it has been in over 40 years, gas prices have skyrocketed as well. In Orange County, the average cost for a gallon of gas is an astonishing $5.37. While gas prices have slightly decreased, it is still a dollar more expensive than last year at this time and the highest in the country, eating into the pocket books of residents. Steel mentioned these exorbitant prices in a tweet, saying it is particularly “unfair to working-class families, who need a break from the failed policies currently running Washington.”
Congresswoman Steel wrote a bi-partisan letter to Governor Newsom asking him to suspend the gas tax, which would have saved over 54 cents each gallon for Californians. She has also proposed that California use more of the oil it produces. In an article she wrote for the OC Register, she said, “40 years ago, California produced 61% of the oil that the state consumed. By 2019, that number had fallen by half, and now the state imports 37% of its oil from Saudi Arabia. Shockingly, we produce less than 1% of the oil used within our state.” Through increasing domestic oil production, gasoline costs can be lowered. This is because when a commodity’s supply is increased to the point that it is higher than the demand, prices would be brought down. Simply ramping up oil production is the practical, common sense solution, but is vehemently opposed by non-compromising environmentalists who are out of touch with the average person.
In addition to tackling inflation, students should know Steel has also advocated for the Helping Applicants Receive Valid and Reasonable Decisions (HARVARD) Act. This bill is meant to stop anti-Asian discrimination in college admissions and discourages race-based admission policies. In a statement released by Congresswoman Steel, she emphasized the importance of every student having the opportunity to succeed based on merit. She further criticized stereotypes used in admissions and said “using personality traits or discriminatory racial preferences in admissions practices is just wrong.” In order to solve this problem, the HARVARD Act would require colleges to list their usage of personality traits and the criteria they used to decide admission to discourage race discrimination.
Her opponent Jay Chen has conversely remained silent on matters of suspending the gas tax and has actually supported the $700 Billion Inflation Reduction Act. Proponents of this bill claim that it is effective because it lowers drug and prescription costs, lowers healthcare costs, and offers tax credits for switching to electric vehicles. However, the Inflation Reduction Act does not really achieve what it set out to do. In fact, it increases taxes on small businesses, expands the IRS, and does virtually nothing to stop inflation. Through doubling the workforce of the IRS, and cracking down on underreported income, “78% to 90% of that underreported income would come from those making less than $200,000 a year,” according to the Joint-Committee on Taxation. Moreover, the JCT estimates that the Inflation Reduction Act will also raise taxes on individuals making less than 400,000. This unfairly targets the middle-class, as increased taxes are the last thing citizens need to worry about when dealing with 9.1% inflation.
Steel, on the other hand, has a proven track record of being a committed tax-fighter, returning over $400 million tax-payer dollars for Californians during her time on the Board of Equalization. She is the right person to represent Orange County because of her solutions to rising costs, as well as her opposition to college admissions based discrimination which disproportionately affects Asian-Americans.
To the youth of America, Congresswoman Steel says “be responsible, make good decisions, and love your country.”
Even if you are not yet eligible to vote, there is still so much you can do, such as spreading the word and even volunteering. For more information, visit www.michellesteelca.com.
