We live in Alaska for many reasons. We have fellowship with the land and sea; we appreciate the job opportunities available to those who are ready, willing, and able to work; we love the independent spirit of our state; we think for ourselves but we support each other.

Unfortunately, the policies championed by the Biden/Harris Administration and their allies in Congress have made it harder for us to live the Alaskan way of life we value resulting in many of our friends and family leaving the state they love.

Alaskan families are feeling the pressure and are faced with unwarranted financial hardships due to no fault of their own. Instead, it has been a government running an economic experiment as old as civilization itself — members of Congress have come to believe that they can finance an unending wish list by simply printing the funds needed to do it. Any high school economics student would know better, but we are now suffering under these failed economic policies coming out of Washington, D.C.

The backdoor tax of inflation has hurt everyday, hard-working people across the nation, but it is particularly felt in Alaska’s communities.

Since day one, the Biden/Harris Administration has put working families last with policies that stifle economic growth and put a strain on households, businesses, and the workforce they employ. Small businesses in particular have faced the brunt of runaway inflation as they are squeezed between a decline in the discretionary incomes of their customers and increasing wage pressures from employees who are also struggling to keep up.

As an Alaskan business owner and investor, I have seen first hand what inflation has done to our state and Alaskan families, and it’s been sad to see Alaskan families make increasingly difficult decisions, whether that’s taking a second (or third) job, passing on an education, or denying themselves healthcare. This isn’t the Alaska we deserve and it’s not our fault — it’s Washington, D.C.’s.

I started my career with a passion for new business creation. I was named the Outstanding Student for my major, Entrepreneurship, at Baylor University. Through my work with early-stage startups over the past 20 years, I have helped develop companies that have gone on to create hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of good-paying American jobs. My focus has always been on building businesses that strengthen the American economy, including right here in Alaska.

Alaskans need a representative who understands the criticality of a thriving private sector continuously refreshed with entrepreneurship, will champion small businesses, and understands how the decisions they make on our behalf in D.C. are likely to impact us at home.

While Mary Peltola has been busy criticizing my national and international business experience, I have been building and investing in companies in Alaska’s private sector. Contrary to my opponent, I am the one candidate in this race who has signed a paycheck for Alaskans.

Alaska’s future depends substantially on commonsense policies and effective leadership at the federal level. Our state’s natural resources provide countless opportunities for new businesses in development, support services, value-added manufacturing, and transportation, yet these opportunities often prove impractical due to overly burdensome regulations, lack of workforce availability, and prohibitively high energy costs.

For Alaska, it is imperative to push back against government overreach so that business owners can do what they do best — take care of employees, serve customer needs, and continue to drive the kind of economic growth that improves our standard of living.

Unfortunately, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and their allies in Congress have made it clear through 67 executive orders and actions targeting Alaska’s right to access and develop our resources: they want Alaska closed, for businesses, and for the families those businesses support.

Congresswoman Mary Peltola does not appear to have made the connection between the national Democrat agenda for Alaska and the impact that agenda is having and will continue to have in our state should national Democrats control the U.S. House in the next Congress.

That said, there is hope. House Republican leadership has made the commitment to continue to prioritize Alaska in the next Congress and there is strong potential for Alaska to have a Senate that is ready to support the House in this effort.

The path to a brighter future in Alaska is not complicated:

— Reestablish Alaska’s right to responsibly produce oil and gas, critical minerals, timber and to sustainably manage our fisheries;

— Invest in education that aligns with the workforce we need to support these industries and those services that support this “primary” workforce;

— Support policies that enhance Alaskan living standards by driving down the cost of living. For example, releasing unused federal lands for private ownership (less than 2% of Alaska is individually owned); expanding fundamental infrastructure including new roads, ports, and bridges; phasing out or seeking waivers for antiquated legislation like the Jones Act and the PVSA; and supporting efforts to increase the availability of lower cost reliable energy throughout Alaska.

Alaskan families and businesses should not have to bear the weight of failed leadership in Washington. We need a wave of innovation and entrepreneurship in our state that occurs as an outgrowth of sound policy. Government needs to get out of the way and get back to the business of helping us build Alaska again.

Our state is meant for greatness, endowed with the world’s most incredible natural resources. Those who came before us understood that.

The world’s most incredible high-grade copper mine — Kennecott was the impossible project of its day. It was done in Alaska.

The trans-Alaska pipeline was the impossible project of its day. It was done in Alaska.

Will we be the generation that dropped the ball and allowed our state to be closed for a braver time — for people with more initiative than us, or will we rediscover Alaska’s bold entrepreneurial spirit and forge something even greater? It’s up to us. Future generations are counting on this generation of Alaskans to deliver on our promise.

It’s incumbent on us — our responsibility — to deliver on Alaska’s promise: North to the Future.

I am running for Congress to help us do that, and I ask you to join me in the effort by voting on or before Nov. 5.

Nick Begich is a Republican candidate for the Alaskan seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.