Is America Broke?

To The Editor:
We in America must do better to equitably distribute its wealth income. This will happen when we make the wealthy pay their fair share to balance our budgets and our huge deficits. America always cries broke. I remember a local politician in my county of Marlboro cry broke and almost flooded us with all the garbage from the east coast. America is not broke. The two party system of Republicans and Democrats supports the rich and their greed and tax the poor.
Four unjust wars is costing us trillions. Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, now Libya. Wall Street’s profit after the bailout was over 60 billion and 40 more billion by the end of 2011. Crime does pay in America, and they still cry broke. I would like to be that kind of broke.
President Obama and the Congress teamed up to propose and vote on the largest budget cut in American history, amounting to 38 billion. These cuts will devastate education, healthcare, transportation, etc., while not putting a dent in the 1.6 trillion federal budget deficit. So why do it? What’s the point? If they want to cut something, cut the 1.2 trillion in tax breaks for the rich. It makes more sense. We, the people are giving away too much money to the rich.
Then they had the nerve to give themselves bonuses. Some CEOs gave themselves 10 to 20 million with stock and money and sent whole plants and jobs overseas.
Another example of executive ethics was in the news. Having cut 2000 employees, the headman at Estee Lauder reaped a 250,000 increase in his salary plus new stock payments worth more than 24 million (up from 14 million he got the previous year). I read that technically the board of directors is supposed to provide corporate governance, including the setting of CEO pay. But look who’s on these boards –they’re mostly other members of the corporate brotherhood who have obvious self-interest in keeping pay levels rising for all executives. This is the system that enriches executive elites, but crushed middle class folks like us.
Guess we got to pray!
Average American,
John T. Nickoless
Bennettsville, SC