Growing up, Martin Luther King Jr Day was always celebrated in school. And unlike many holidays, we celebrated his fight through plays, assemblies and the dreaded compositions. He fought for his rights and the rights of the African American people as granted by the United States Constitution and he did so peacefully and eloquently. And through his efforts black people in America began to finally enjoy the benefits of this great nation and all it had to offer. Although in some places in our country the fight continues, the legacy of Dr. King endures and lives on.
While Dr. King was fight for race equality, today our nation finds itself in a new Civil Rights movement based on economic diversity. Increasingly our nation have become one of the haves versus the have nots. The gap between the filthy rich and the working class is growing everyday and we are witnessing the creation of a new class, The Woking Poor. Over the past few decades we have seen an enormous increase in the costs of basic human needs; Food, Oil, Access to Health Care while the wages of everyday working Americans have stayed somewhat flat. So why are we surprised that people are living in poverty? And this is done in the name of a Free Market system! The problem with wealth is that it breeds greed and the insatiable appetite for more and more money at the any expense. Look at the bonuses some of these CEOs make and the subsidies the oil industry receive, just making the rich richer.
Now I know people will say that this is Capitalism and that rich people should not be penalized for being rich. But when did helping your fellow man become a penalty? And how did they get so rich, was it on the backs of the working class? Everyone loves to insert religion into politics and I feel that to do so is a bad idea, but to those who do, isn't it you christian responsibility to help the less fortunate or to offer a hand up to those who need it?
Now some people say that government should stop regulating everything, taxes on the rich should be cut, and Social programs should be cut, and by doing so the market will work itself out. To these people I say, Fooey!!!!! We have tried tax cuts for the rich (trickle down economics, Bush era tax cuts), and they were colossal failures and created nothing but making the rich richer and the poor poorer. The Economic argument they make that tax cuts for rich and corporations will create jobs is silly and here is why. One of the most important principles of any economic system is that of Supply and Demand. Currently in our nation unemployment is over 8% and many people fortunate enough to have a job are working paycheck to paycheck. They have no disposable income so our corporations are seeing no increase in demand and therefore need to cut the workforce. What our nation and economy need is an increase in the demand, which will only occur when people get back to work and make a fair wage. Then they not only have the desire to spend money and therefore stimulate the economy but also the means. And in the end supply side economics doesn't work because people are greedy and would rather see people starving in the streets rather than kick in a few extra bucks they won't miss, sounds like the old USSR to me.
SO now our nation finds itself in search for a new Civil Rights leader, someone with the strength of character and the courage of convictions that Dr. King displayed.
I am the 99%
More to follow......
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