Looking at the history of working people this past century, I find it very hard to believe the currently popular economic theory that the welfare of a country rises best and fastest where the biggest monetary resources are placed in the hands of big money and big business. In the last sixty years or so since World War II, our nation acquired its great economic power when the middle class, assisted heavily by the union movement, was given sufficient wages and benefits to purchase not just a survival income but wages that brought a comfort level to people so that they could buy such luxuries as books, CDs, tennis equipment, powered boats and hunting gear, theatre tickets, and the like. It's called "consumer spending", by lots of consumers with sufficient income to spend. China today is rising in economic power as its middle class is gaining ground, with India not far behind. Many developing countries are seeing the same results. Conversely, the U.S. has lately been losing ground. In recent decades wages have not been keeping up with the cost of living, while more and more of the country's wealth is going to the wealthiest few. Is it any surprise that our economy is struggling in its attempt at recovery?
Until the Republican party leaders recognize this, their wise and well-intended efforts to streamline our burgeoning, wasteful federal government will fail. Prosperity cannot and will not return and prevail if they succeed in laying the cost of balancing the budget and bringing down our national debt primarily on the pocketbooks of the middle class instead of asking the wealthy to make their appropriate contribution. Are they not gaining the greatest benefit when our country prospers?
Seeking fair distribution of the national wealth,
Margaret
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