When I was a teenager back in the 1980s, Alabama had a hit song called “40 Hour Week.” It was an anthem to the American work ethic. You still hear it played on country radio today. One of its great stanzas is:

This is for the one who swings the hammer,
Driving home the nail
Or the one behind the counter,
Ringing up the sale
Or the one who fights the fires,
The one who brings the mail.

It was this type of work ethic, worthy of song, that drove our nation forward. This was a sentiment that was truly held by both Republicans and Democrats. We all seemed to understand that the American Dream is based around the idea that if you work hard, play by the rules and persist, you can have a prosperous life in the United States. Sadly, in recent years, the American Dream has been undermined by the far left, and the consequences have been severe.

Look at the mainstream liberal policies that have gained momentum and consider the consequences that have gone along with them. Ideas that were too liberal for the far left of 10 years ago are now the moderate stances of today’s Democratic Party. Consider unemployment benefits for example. When Republicans tackled welfare reform by requiring those recipients to work, we saw a significant drop in welfare numbers, but now Democrats want to provide additional federal benefits without requiring work of any kind.

When businesses across America were desperate to find workers, the Democrats offered federal “bonus” unemployment checks that encouraged people to stay home. As these “bonus” checks were running out, they then passed a bill paying people hundreds of dollars per child, which furthered their bias against working for a paycheck.

Now, the Biden administration is rolling out vaccine mandates. This mandate will do two things, both of which are counterproductive. First, a mandate from a government many people don’t trust will just make them that more determined not to get it. They will walk away from their job before getting vaccinated. This leads to the second problem; we will have even more able-bodied men and women walk out of the workforce. Could this be any more obvious?

These ideas are reminiscent of those held in the old Soviet Union, the former country of Yugoslavia, and modern-day Cuba and Venezuela. And look at how those countries have crumbled. Or consider how these ideas have impacted the once-great nations of Europe. It wasn’t long ago that countries like France were bona fide world powers, but now the entire region has been put on the back burner. Nations like Sweden, Finland and Italy show how governments that continuously grow their social programs end up losing their entrepreneurial drive and spirit. If the socialist Democrats have their way, we will join this list of nations. We are the land of liberty and opportunity, not the land of false security and decline.

Recently the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that while there is a record-high 10.1 million job openings, there are still over 8 million people who are unemployed. I believe that most of those people want to work, but government is making it easier for them to sit on the sidelines. This is damaging the American work ethic in ways we’ve never witnessed before. There are hard-working men and women across this country, and particularly here in Alabama, that want to earn their living and create a better future for their kids. However, when government policies take away the incentive to work hard and actually punish high achievers, we can’t blame those outside the workforce, the real blame is with the Democrat’s socialist agenda.

So how do we restore the American Dream? First and foremost, we must replenish the incentive to work, and that means stopping these government handouts that are wreaking havoc on our economy. It also means keeping our tax rate fair and consistent by fighting President Biden and the Democrats’ efforts to raise taxes to historic levels. Additionally, we can work to reduce the size of both government and red-tape regulations, that way we will unleash the private sector and create good jobs with a sustainable future. And we must change the culture of our country from claiming victimhood and blaming capitalism, to taking responsibility and revamping the American work ethic.

All of this is doable, however, it’s imperative we do it soon. If we don’t, the socialist ideas of today will be the moderate ideas of tomorrow. But I believe we can reverse course and rise up once again. I still believe in the “shining city on a hill” as President Reagan often said. And I believe the American Dream still exists, waiting for those who work for it.

U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-04) is a Republican from Haleyville.