I’m really trying to be positive and upbeat – looking for good news and solutions, rather than being part of the problem. However, it is very difficult when items like this come along. What is so frustrating is that there is really little that individuals can do to change this. I voted Liberatarian. Well, it is a start…

A Look at the Numbers: How the Rich Get Richer
Mother Jones
http://www.motherjones.com/news/exhibit/2006/05/perks_of_privilege.html

IN 1985, THE FORBES 400 were worth $221 billion combined. Today, they’re worth $1.13 trillion—more than the GDP of Canada.

We aren’t talking about some third world country here. The enormity of this is unbelievable.

There are forty or so of these little factoids – most make my blood boil, but here are a few that speak volumes about the state of the U.S. moral decline by the wealthiest and those so-called “elected” representatives.

ONLY THE WEALTHIEST 20% of Americans spend more on entertainment than on health care.

And what about the millions who don’t pay anything for healthcare because they don’t have any?

ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION, the federal minimum wage has fallen 42% since its peak in 1968.

THE $17,530 EARNED by the average Wal-Mart employee last year was $1,820 below the poverty line for a family of 4.
5 OF AMERICA’S 10 richest people are Wal-Mart heirs.

PUBLIC COMPANIES spend 10% of their earnings compensating their top 5 executives.

10 FORMER ENRON directors agreed to pay shareholders a $13 million settlement—which is 10% of what they made by dumping stock while lying about the company’s health.

POOR AMERICANS spend 1/4 of their income on residential energy costs.

How does this happen? How can it be set right so that all Americans share more equitably in the natural wealth, innovation and resourcefulness that made the U.S. the envy of the world? In a democracy, voters have a say at the ballot box. Too bad this isn’t an option for Americans. We’ll just have to find another way. And we will…