Economic Security and Opportunity for All

By Bill Rice

Effective leadership doesn’t simply involve being the most knowledgeable or confident person in the room. It also involves listening.

No one can be an effective leader without listening to the people around them, the people they’re representing and for whom they are fighting. As the book of Proverbs says “let the wise listen and add to their learning.” The best leaders are those with the ability to listen to those around them, recognize and understand their concerns, and develop actionable plans to address these issues.

That is what struck me most about Justin Fairfax the first time I met him: not only is he extremely knowledgeable on an array of issues and subjects, not only is he an amazing speaker with bold, effective policy ideas, not only does he exhibit invaluable leadership skills with the ability to calmly take charge in hectic and complicated situations — but, most importantly, he actually listens to people. He listens to their hopes, their ideas, their concerns.

I’ve seen Justin put in the time to speak and listen at length with numerous concerned voters on a variety of issues — be it criminal justice reform, transportation infrastructure, or funding for the arts. Justin listens, learns from, and presents realistic solutions for those concerns most important to the people of Virginia.

One such concern that people are voicing all across this commonwealth, all across this country, is the issue of economic security and opportunity.

Justin Fairfax clearly recognizes the seriousness of this issue. And Justin also understands that economic security doesn’t simply mean having a job.

Economic security means having a job with a living wage, fundamental benefits (e.g. healthcare, paid-time off), and an avenue for professional and personal growth. It means not having to live with a pervasive cloud of debt (e.g. student debt) hanging over one’s head. It means possessing enough financial stability and a reasonable work-life balance so that individuals can pursue creative and/or charitable endeavors in their communities for the betterment of us all.

Virginia is not a place free from these issues. For example, almost 1.2 million people in our commonwealth (41.4 percent of its private-sector workers) do not have paid sick leave. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2015 nearly 120,000 workers earned either exactly the federal minimum wage or less, tying 2nd with Mississippi for the proportion of hourly-paid workers that earned at or below the federal minimum wage. For that same year, about 59 percent of Virginia’s college graduates left school with student loan debt, with an average of over $27,000 per student.

In our capitol city of Richmond, nearly 25 percent of its residents live in poverty with a child poverty rate of around 39 percent.

Furthermore, one certainly cannot discuss the issues of economic security and opportunity without mentioning the global trend of increasing wealth and income inequality. As economist Thomas Piketty outlines in his universally-praised book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, high levels of income and wealth inequality operates as a detriment to economic growth and, in the long run, negatively affects all of us — not only the poor and middle class, but also the rich.

Nor can one ignore the reality of race- and gender-based disparities in our economy. Although economic insecurity is something that affects all of us regardless of race or gender, minorities and women are too often disproportionally impacted in all of these aforementioned areas. For instance, a recent poll by the Center for American Progress found that economic security issues were top priorities for Virginia African American and Hispanic women. This was further borne out in a Center for American Progress report that found black and Hispanic women in Virginia earn 59.7 cents and 52.9 cents, respectively, for every dollar that white men earn.

Justin Fairfax is a candidate that hears and recognizes all these issues and concerns. He truly understands that economic security and opportunity must be promoted for all Virginians. That’s why he supports raising the minimum wage to a livable wage, expanding quality healthcare to all Virginians, funding workforce and development training programs (especially for “middle-skill” jobs), implementing a state-based student loan restructuring and reduction program, fighting for gender pay equity, supporting the growth of Virginia’s small businesses — in addition to other necessary, forward-thinking policies for Virginia.

That is why he recently took interest in an article in the The Roanoke Times that not only highlighted issues of inequality and lack of opportunity in the city of Roanoke but also presented current and potential efforts to address these problems that could be implemented across Virginia.

And that is why he is now traveling across our diverse Commonwealth on an “Economic Security & Opportunity Tour” to speak with and listen to the voices of as many Virginians as he can.

That is why I strongly believe that, as Lt. Governor of Virginia, Justin Fairfax is the person most able to lead our Commonwealth towards a future where economic security and opportunity is strong — to a Virginia economy where all of us can grow and thrive, where the success of Southwest Virginia adds to the success of Northern Virginia, and vice versa, where all communities and regions of Virginia work collaboratively towards a more prosperous and equitable society. That is a future for which I want to stand. That is a future that begins to be realized if we start working at it today. That is a future that can only be achieved with immediate action and investments. For, as Justin often says, the future is now.