Most politicians spend every news cycle fighting over policies written long before most of us were born. It’s like they do not understand that the world kept changing after the 1970s. All the while – we’re driving across broken bridges, working low-wage jobs, dodging natural disasters, endeavoring to sleep between gig shifts, and hunting for essential goods – often, on this new thing called the internet.
We deserve better than the same old politicians who are looking to the past instead of the future.
My commitment to you is to run a campaign that’s values forward and ears out. And, if elected, to pass policies that are meaningful to you.
But this is a two-way street. Let’s not let it crumble like the rest of our infrastructure!
Please email us your concerns, ideas, or random thoughts!
Happy Birthday to the ~ 3.8 million people who are celebrating their 65th birthdays in 2022! Thank you for all you have done to build this amazing country that we all share – and strive to thrive within.
They have lived through wars, pandemics, and the rise and fall of democracies. And…along the way, they helped transform our world in ways their parents would have deemed unimaginable.
But I’m not sure we do enough to honor those contributions. Nope. Among the lessons we’ve learned throughout this pandemic is how much we take older Americans for granted (despite all they have and continue to contribute to our success). Older Americans have disproportionately suffered throughout Covid. They have lost their lives, their jobs, and their peace of mind.
If you’ve been reading up on me, you know I come from a culture that honors its elders…and I think that is the exact state of mind we need in D.C. right now.
For my entire life, politicians in D.C. have been fighting over ideas to save (or ruin) Social Security; to expand (or undermine) Medicare; or whether the government should have a role in ending senior homelessness. Along the way, a lot of decent politicians have voted for solutions that never passed the Senate or made it past the President’s desk.
But Social Security as we know it will not exist in 2034. That’s just 12 years from now!
I’m running for Congress because I know that Voting the Right Way is the Bare Minimum. Older Americans need a congressman who is ready to transform representation into action…because there is no time to waste.
Medicare should cover all senior health care needs. Older Americans also need eyes, ears, and teeth.
A quick note on housing. Property taxes are too high in Illinois. Please check out my plan to build a 21st-century education system (that doesn’t put an undue burden on homeowners and younger people who aspire to buy property in Illinois).
Older Americans! I want to hear from you. What am I missing here? Email me at us@junaidforcongress.com
Let’s also make it a bit easier to keep our Democracy strong by:
Hey! If you’re a politician who supports voter suppression, you’re basically saying that voters either dislike you (or think your policies suck) so much, you can’t win an election without tilting the odds in your favor. Please step aside so someone else can step up! Thanks 🙂
P.S. Why was I thinking of Ted Cruz when I wrote that last paragraph?!
P.P.S. If you are eligible to vote but don’t, please shoot me an email. I want to talk to you. us@junaidforcongress.com
So, not only are we spending WAY more than countries leading the pack on test scores, our current education systems fail to meet the holistic needs (that can’t be measured by a test) of 21s-century students…and, worst of all, some school districts just suck. Full stop.
The early pandemic shined a light on many of the inequities and inefficiencies that plague our systems of education. The latter pandemic has shown us that we’ve (so far) failed to rebuild an education system that’s more nimble, dynamic, inclusive, and innovative.
…and if you haven’t noticed, a lot of parents, educators, and students are pissed.
I support a collaborative framework for education governance that begins at the local level. If elected, I will work with partners across communities to establish an outcomes-driven conversation that asks stakeholders to imagine what their communities need out of our Pre-K through 20 education systems. Once we establish that vision for the future, we can begin passing policy that actually works for students, families, educators, and employers.
In the Meantime:
No, it’s not our job to fix every problem in every country around the world. But some problems are too big for any one country to fix alone. And some problems have solutions that the U.S. is especially good at fixing. So no…we don’t have to help, but why shouldn’t we?
When we stand up for a rules-based global order; when we defend the rights of global workers; when we push back against predatory practices of authoritarian regimes; when we stand by our friends and our foes in times of crisis – we help steer the world in a direction in which Americans stand to thrive.
Among the many lessons this pandemic continues to teach us is that we do not and cannot live in isolation from the rest of the world. Our health, our mobility, our economies, our grocery store shelves are all connected. And collectively, we face a pandemic, a migrant crisis, global democratic backsliding, a climate crisis. Our role as a global leader has never been more important than it is today.
But we’re kinda in a foreign policy rut if you all haven’t noticed. American influence around the world is no longer guaranteed. And If we do not act soon, our grandchildren might be born into a world dominated by the values of the Chinese Communist Party or Putin’s Russia.
It’s time we use the most massive weapon in our arsenal: The American Economy.
By the way, have you ever wondered why so much of our foreign policy is driven by military spending instead of economic leveraging?
Yep, sorry to beat a dead horse with a big stick…but we can blame the special interests and their puppets in DC. Foreign policy is literally a big business. And even the corporations without club cards to the military-industrial complex prefer lax trade agreements that allow them to exploit workers in countries ruled by authoritarians, oligarchs, and communist parties.
But I’m an optimist who dreams big. And I believe in American ingenuity. Americans will thrive in a global economic environment defined by the very values that make America great – and so will countless workers across the world.
Junaid, of course, supports all of the commonsense gun reforms the broader Democratic Party supports.
However, let’s not fool ourselves. If we pass all of this legislation tomorrow, gun violence will continue. In part – because there are more guns than people in the United States.
But, more than that, gun violence is a symptom of broader structural issues within our economy and society.
What I mean by this is that we must build an economy where all people have the opportunity to thrive. Where criminal behavior is not the best option.
What I mean by this is that we must care for ourselves, our loved ones, and our neighbors. Yes, gun violence caused by mental illness makes up just a small sample of the broader epidemic – but the mental health crisis (particularly) amongst youth is real. More than 90% of parents worry about the mental health status of their kids.
The solution to this crisis begins with commonsense gun legislation – but we solve the problem by addressing the crisis at its roots.
I would love to hear more of your thoughts about both the policies that matter most to your group – but also your thoughts on how economic and racial justice reforms can help of us ameliorate this issue.
Hoping for Something Shorter?