Letter from Alexander Portelli

Our Focus Must Be on the Budget

I am 36 years old, a father, a landowner, and born and raised Upstater. I am running for Congress to give a voice in favor of solving the affordability crisis, by doing the only thing that will truly solve it: balancing the budget.

Right now, the national debt is at $39.2 trillion, and growing exponentially. We now spend a trillion dollars annually on interest on the debt alone, and not a single politician (no, not even my primary opponent, Senator Oberacker, or my general election opponent, Josh Riley) have mentioned it once in their whole campaign.

The Fed takes in $5.4 trillion annually, and yet spends $7.4 trillion. This is unsustainable. It must also be said that the number one cause of inflation, a topic that is a top concern for more than 80 percent of Americans according to some surveys, is when the government is printing money it doesn’t have. Inflation and affordability will never be solved until the budget is balanced and the debt is reversed toward a downward trajectory.

And before we blame Republicans or Democrats, let’s just agree that both sides have been fiscally irresponsible, respectfully, and now the focus must simply be on solutions. At least if not for us, then for the next generation of Americans. I ask for the support of Republican voters in our party’s primary on June 23, so that I may take this important fight to Washington.

Alexander Portelli
Cherry Valley
Republican candidate for Congress, NY-19