Hearing President Biden’s State of the Union address, on Feb. 7, was both encouraging and frustrating at times. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will hopefully allow for more jobs to be created for Americans; will provide high-speed internet to every community, letting more children complete homework and providing adults the ability to work from home, and will take action to replace poisonous lead pipes to ensure every person has access to clean, drinkable water.

In addition to this, the focus on reducing the cost of necessary medical care, such as reducing the cost of insulin to $35, is very important. Focusing on the needs of American people to allow them to live safely and comfortably should be considered a priority.

Although President Biden has signed acts that will bring positive change, he is not doing enough on the situations that need immediate action. Instead of focusing on affording family trips or hotel rooms or tickets to concerts and sporting events, why not look to creating affordable housing, job opportunities, even warming centers for the homeless? Violent crime rates are also still elevated, and the only thing President Biden mentioned as a viable solution was banning assault rifles and increasing job training for police.

Paige Cutler
Standish