Lies against the middle class
To the editor:
The Republican mantra of “Lower taxes, less government, more freedom” is a noble goal. However, unfortunately, it has never been achieved in my lifetime. You see those with deep pockets and political power only need to suggest to the (one party political system) that we need just a little more government. Why would we want more government? Oh, because they say it can do some good. However, the fact remains there may not be any government in history that has done any good for the middle class. The very best of governments have done just the least amount of harm.
Yesterday, Jan. 20, 2015, the December economic report of 2014 showed that more businesses closed their doors in the U.S. than there were new businesses starting up. The top 1 percent of the nations’ earners made more in 2014 than the other 99 percent. The actual unemployment rate according to www.shadowstats.com is 23 percent-24 percent whereas the United States government claims it is 5 percent-6 percent. I attribute this lack of truth in politics to the six major media groups who control 90 percent of the information digested by the unknowing American public. It seems that every issue that is brought up by today’s media through each venue divides the public on every issue. It is men versus women, Republicans verses Democrats, Libertarians versus the system, rich versus poor, black versus white, multi-national corporations versus small business free enterprise, and the political class versus the taxpayer. They politicize and demonize each other as if they were from different countries. This division has manifested ill-will pitting neighbor against neighbor.
George W. Bush’s gigantic lie that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction has cost the middle class dearly in blood and treasure. The average American has lost 60 percent of their net worth since 1995 and they have lost approximately 40 percent since 2007. Much of the accrued net worth of many years of savings and investment in one’s own home is gradually evaporating. Many retirement plans have been reduced.
The so-called Free Trade Agreements are the root cause of this unending serious recession. NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, WTO and now the secret Trans Pacific Trade Treaty (TPTT) have caused the United States to lose over 6,800 manufacturing plants which employed over 12 million workers. These were the most skilled workers in the nation; replacement is not likely or even possible.
In the annals of American political history there has not been one case in which at least 30 percent of the employed government workers in management were not from the private sector: that is until now. Obama has a 6.4 percent private sector employment participation in his administration. Most of his staff is comprised of academics, lawyers and professional bureaucrats who have no idea how things work but function on theories, not facts. All you need to know is that Attorney General Eric Holder, who is leaving that office, has been hired by J.P. Morgan for an annual $77 million pay-off salary.
Unless we the 99 percent can find a way to overcome our personal prejudices and act in tandem for the benefit of our country, our whole way of life will continue to disintegrate.
Jon Larsen Shudlick
Fort Myers