U.S. equality on the decline

We are the wealthiest country in the history of the planet, yet half of all Americans are poor. America isn’t number one in anything any more except mega millionaires and billionaires. In the last 15 years, the number of American billionaires has grown from 51 to 540. We are also number one in gun deaths and violence and prison incarceration. At the same time, the poverty rate has accelerated and the middle class is rapidly declining. These are facts that no American should be proud of. Take notice on what other developed countries are beating us on: education, health care, and other benefits for their citizens.

Republicans are responsible for borrowing trillions from Social Security to pay for unfunded wars, tax cuts for the rich and large corporations like Exxon Mobile and now want to cut your Social Security benefits and increase the age of eligibility to 69. All this to ensure they won’t have to repay the loans when a simple fix would be to increase the taxable ceiling rate.

In the last election, 46 percent of eligible voters failed to vote. 26 percent of voters sealed our fate with Trump and the Republicans. We have the lowest voting rate in an advanced Democracy. Status quo Democrats have forgotten their roots and lost sight that their purpose is to use government to improve the lives of all Americans, not just their own. Republicans gain power to promote religious ideology and support plutocrats and corporate oligarchs. Millions of Americans are fed up.

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 6:45 PM with the headline "U.S. equality on the decline."