Las Vegas: Demaine Hargrove, 21, said she recently dropped plans to pursue a four-year college degree and enrolled in an apprenticeship program in Las Vegas, which resulted in a higher salary, better medical benefits and a pension.
This has been made possible by a surge in solar investment, facilitated by US President Joe Biden’s Inflation Relief Act (IRA), which has invested around US$110 billion (RM510 billion) since it was passed a year ago. Contributed to promoting new clean energy projects.
Hargrove said his job and membership in the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) union allowed him and his wife to live in an apartment. They are now starting to get serious about buying a home and starting a family.
“A lot of good things have happened in the last few months, at least for me,” Hargrove told Reuters. But he also pays $500 a month for gas to commute to a massive solar farm 45 minutes from Las Vegas.
He said he wasn’t sure if he would vote in 2024 when Mr. Biden is re-elected.
“To me, it just feels like it’s out of my control,” he said of American politics in general.
As the 2024 election season approaches, Biden and his team are in the United States to discuss the economy’s ability to fight a recession and the impact of the president’s clean energy tax cuts, union support and infrastructure investment. They carefully ignore the ever-growing list of indictments against former president and arch-rival Republican Donald Trump.
While Americans like Hargrove are feeling the benefits, it’s not clear that this approach will get Biden the votes he needs in 2024. Many Biden voters in 2020 say the economy is worse than it was then or have never heard of Biden and the Democrats’ policies. According to a recent Reuters poll, it will require an absolutely huge investment.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s Monday visit to a training center in Las Vegas, where Hargrove and about 700 other apprentices are paid to work and learn new skills, gives some insight into Biden’s approach. raised the question of
Yellen’s visit to Las Vegas garnered praise from union leaders but little national or local media attention. Battleground state Nevada, with the nation’s highest unemployment rate of 5.4%, could secure a Democratic victory in 2020 and be a key factor heading into 2024, political strategists say. It says.
A local NBC affiliate reported Yellen’s speech at the IBEW union hall, but the segment aired near the end of the station’s evening broadcast, well behind the local school and weather coverage. Local newspapers reported Yellen’s remarks but did not primarily feature his speech.
Casey Harrison, political reporter Las Vegas Sunsaid the reports reflected not only a lack of demand but also the administration’s lack of preparedness.
“I don’t think the administration is trying hard enough to get into these battlefield states,” Harrison said. “When they come here, we give them 12 to 24 hours notice and then they come and go.
A U.S. Treasury official told Reuters that Yellen’s speech was covered on local television, radio and newspapers around the time of her visit.
Harrison said other cabinet ministers, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Home Secretary Deb Harland, also stopped by Las Vegas, often with the same scripts. , but they don’t spend all day with us like that. ”
Asked about Biden’s persistently low voter turnout and his management of the economy, Yellen said the percentage of Americans who feel good about their personal situation even if they give the economy a bad reputation said to have increased significantly.
“Americans have been through a lot in the last couple of years, pandemics, high inflation,” he told reporters. “And it’s important to explain to Americans what happened, that this is really great for the future, and that things are really really happening.”
Large-scale initiatives like the IRA often take years to be felt and accepted by voters. According to a KFF poll, it took seven years for Americans to outpace dissenters to Obamacare, a health care reform signed by former President Barack Obama in 2010.
But with inflation and unemployment both below 4%, voter sentiment on the economy could turn in Biden’s favor in the 14 months leading up to the election.
Rachel Warren, 42, a former stay-at-home mom and intern at an electrical training center, is grateful for the job and remains optimistic about her family’s future.
“I don’t think Biden is doing a bad job. We had a lot to do,” Warren said. She said she plans to vote for Biden again.
But the impact of living costs, including high childcare costs and doubling food costs, is taking a toll, she said.
“It’s a little bit stressful because you’re trying to do it all. It’s just costly. It’s making it harder for people to afford it. So I think it takes a little less joy out of it.” – Reuters
