Demise of America

I'm in a protracted email conversation with a good friend of mine who coincidentally a very conservative Republican.  He's pretty convinced that the Democrats are responsible for our debt, our regulations and all of our troubles.  He doesn't see the tax cuts for the top 0.01% of the nation's wealthiest people as a tax break, since, as he says, they pay all the taxes.

I've tried my darndest to explain to him that the problem(s) aren't that easy.  My contention is that leaving the world to the rich isn't necessarily the best answer.  The mega-rich never have enough money or enough power.  Without regulation and oversight the end game would be that we'd end up back to the days of the Pharaohs.  One person rules a nation of slaves, which is great if you're the one person.

The fact is that governments came into being so that we would have the playing field appropriately lined and boundaries set.  Lately the lines have been blurred.  In America the gap between the extremely wealthy and the middle class is widening more every day.  Power and greed are replacing reverence for our country.

The time is fast approaching when Americans will have to decide who will run/rule the nation.  Is this going to continue to be a nation of the people, for the people and by the people or are we simply going to hand the keys over to the mega-corporations and allow them to year in and year out take our hard earned tax dollars for their own corporate gain?

Your thoughts?