The reason economic opportunity is at a decline in America, is because of misplaced national priorities. We were told that if we distributed more wealth to the top income brackets, the wealth would trickle down and everyone would be better off. This has turned into a promise broken and we have seen that as income for the top 2% of income earners has grown by over 80%, the average worker's income has remained stagnant. With the pressure of inflation continually accumulating upon the working man's shoulders, the question we must ask is, do we blame the poor or do we blame the system that is clearly rigged against them?
We know the cause of the problem, just as we knew it after the Great Depression. And just as America needed a New Deal after the Great Depression, we need a New Deal today; a New Deal that allows every child to receive a quality education and an opportunity to succeed, regardless of their social status at birth. It is not about taking from the rich and giving to the poor, it is about providing a system that enables people to pull themselves out of poverty. Unfortunately, because of lies and propaganda we have sold our American Dream of social mobility for a system that has proven to be a nightmare for poor Americans. When are we going to stop blaming poor people for our problems and take back our American Dream? The Finns and the Swedes are living the American Dream today just as we did in the Post-War era, offering us a constant reminder of what America once was and can be again.
Even with all of the social progress that America has seen over the past several decades, it is evident that the politics of racism and divisiveness are seeking to creep back into our national discourse. I was disturbed but mostly heartbroken as I witnessed hundreds of Americans cheer and applaud flagrant racism and bigotry and my fear is that this could be the thing that holds America back from reclaiming its dream.
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