Time for action is now!
"The cornerstone of the Republic, as with all free enterprises, is the respect for and obedience to the law… Where we permit the law to be defied or evaded by rich men (or women) …we are increasing the chances of a system in which there shall be violent alternations or anarchy and tyranny." — Theodore Roosevelt
Our federal government is so preoccupied with today's problems that very little attention is being devoted toward planning for the future. Certain factors within our society and economy are merging and they could cause major citizen unrest within the next 15 to 20 years.
Approximately 16.65 million citizens are presently unemployed; another 18 to 25 million are struggling to get by on poverty wages. Industrial jobs, that support middle class citizens, are disappearing at an alarming rate. The ballooning national debt; the increasing cost of Medicare/Social Security relative to the number of person paying into the system; the rising cost of private insurance; laborers being replaced by robots; the cost of higher education; the combination of these factors point toward a growing problem that needs our immediate attention and planning.
If we underestimate the potential problems and don't address them now, it is quite possible that an additional 15 to 20 million middle class citizens will be without work or struggling to get by on poverty level wages. Should this occur, millions of middle class citizens will be unable to make their home mortgage payments, feed their families, and educate their children. Idle hands and minds lead to desperate situations, which could cause major social problems with widespread looting and the downfall of Wall Street.
"We have forgotten in America that a democracy is the most difficult kind of government to maintain … because of widespread political corruption to which it so easily lends it self. Our drift today toward complete totalitarian bureaucracy is one that threatens immediately the very freedoms for which our service men are dying." — Ernest R. Palen
By the time this goes to Press, we be within a week of having a new President elect. I worry for the country because neither nominee is respected. We certainly need change; so, if we can't respect the person we can at least do our best to let the individual and congress know we respect their positions in government and that we expect some positive legislation to be enacted. Our tax structure should be modified to be more equitable and the additional revenue devoted to solving some of the above problems.
I was about to close this note when I came across the book, Crisis Point — Why We Must — and How We Can — Overcome Our Broken Politics in Washington and Across America, by Senators Trent Lott and Tom Daschle with Jon Sternfeld, Bloomsbury Press, 2016. I wish this book would become required reading for our President Elect and Congress.
Pray for the country; we need all the help that we can muster.
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Leonard Brant is a resident of Post Falls.