The Rich get Richer and the Poor . . . <"_?

Since 2007 brought the USA a downturn in the economy I have wondered about how the materialism of our culture has played out in the news and in common everyday ways. I can still remember seeing the signs in the PBS news back in October 2006. For awhile there we seemed to have quite a large uptick in the homelessness numbers, which may have recovered a bit by now. At the same time members of Congress are no longer expected to do anything to help average everyday folks because they welcome their long lines of lobbyists into their offices and have no room on the calendar for most of us individual voting citizens. The occupy groups have sprung up and faded out again. The data on working people still remains somewhat depressed, and most of the available jobs are minimum wage or below. The President still wants another trade agreement to go forward, the very cause under Clinton of job loss to impoverished nations whose citizens will work for near slave wages. The irony is that nowadays some wealthy people are dying to look foolish. Meanwhile “conservatives” have to limit food stamps and welfare to, uh, get re-elected, or what?

Who does benefit from this system? Stock holders, of course. Meanwhile food stamps and welfare checks are a violation against humanity in the eyes of the wealthy members of Congress, who can barely keep unemployment benefits going either. Maybe I am exaggerating somewhat. After all it was only one year that the Walmart "Black Friday" stampede actually injured and killed people. And Walmart, owned by the wealthiest family in Missouri, buys most of its merchandise offshore.

Starting into 2014 now, how can we begin to come together as citizens and voters to change ourselves into a different sort of voting public, one that insists that party loyalty is not loving the citizenry enough? Personally I would love a kick-them-out campaign that promises candidates they have to grow up to the realities what we face here. But that is too negative to fly. Even though it might be a lot of fun!

To me the biggest world wide issue will be the environment until several generations from now. Fossil fuels are fossilized thinking. We as a nation will likely increase famine and starvation throughout the world if we do not come up with real solutions that include grade A heritage seeds and sustainable power like wind, solar and water. Energy use must fall, particularly in the USA, with the use of mass transit, and trains like the ones in Europe that crisscross the whole continent. President Obama has led us in this direction; but investors still love dirty coal, whether used here or shipped to China. Black smog in China is already legendary and it affects the Whole Planet, not just one continent.

So I am hoping we can all resolve to bring working solutions to the United States Congress this year, including warning them that we do vote!