There is a tremendous problem going on in America: There is almost no representation of working class people in government. We thought it was going to be Obama, then we thought it was going to be Trump, then we thought it was going to be Bernie Sanders. Turns out we were wrong every time—the establishment has a much firmer grip on things than we ever thought.
Middle America is suffering from an opioid crisis that has reached epidemic proportions. The jobs have been shipped overseas, the people have moved to the cities in search of work, and the rest has been left to decay. People are so distracted with consumerism lifestyles that they hardly notice. We’re in so much collective debt it’s honestly laughable that we’ll ever get out of it. Why can’t congress find a way to bring jobs back and give people a reason to live? “As a nation, we’ve been chasing the metrics of topline economic growth, while forgetting that human beings need meaning, worth, and community.” Ball and Enjeti continue: “a country with a few prosperous super cities and a vast wasteland of hollowed out towns and small cities is not a success.”
Part of the problem is that the media is no help. The media’s job used to be to report what was important. They are supposed to investigate powerful people and hold them accountable. “Story selection is the most pernicious form of media bias” our authors write. “What they choose to ignore often matters more than what they choose to show you.” The media is supposed to inform the populace of things like, for example, 67,000 people dying from an opioid overdose (2018 CDC numbers.) How are they supposed to do that when they’re too busy yelling at the opposing political party? How can we expect The Washington Post to report honestly when its owned by Jeff Bezos?
The only way out of this mess is a populist movement that actually works. Obama and Trump both made promises, but upon entering the White House they effectively handed the reins over to the career politicians in their respective political parties and let Wall Street continue to run the show. Obama had his chance with the housing crisis of 2008, but ultimately failed, as he ‘bailed out’ the banks, putting millions of dollars into the pockets of corporate bankers. Trump had his chance, but ended up doing the same thing via his Coronavirus relief packages. Bernie came close, but the Democratic elites used Mayor Pete and Amy Klobuchar as pawns on the political chess board in order to stuff him and propel Joe Biden to victory. They did the same in 2016 when they rigged the game against him in favor of Hillary Clinton. All the while, everyone at the tops of the political and economic structures in this country have continued to grow rich and wealthy while the rest of the people suffer. Is there anybody out there who can break though the oligarchical stranglehold of the powerful people in Washington and Wall Street and fight back? Who will come along next and give the populace of this once great nation a real shot at change?
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