For most U.S. workers, real wages have not increased in over 40 years. Working- and middle- class wages have stagnated when adjusted for inflation and more income has shifted to top income earners and away from the middle class. Across our country during this time, the poor were getting poorer, the rich were getting richer and the working- and middle classes were paying a price that they are today actively demonstrating they refuse to continue.
Once a country united in so many ways, distinctive and troubling fault lines are developing between different classes of people and between the average person and a majority of our politicians including leaders from other walks of American life. Emerging from the Obama years, overall national economic growth of less than 2.0% per year was not adequate enough to increase the standard of living for the majority of Americans. The accelerated growth of government on a Federal level and in many states led by Democrats was directly responsible for the freedom of many Americans and their opportunity for better lives being diminished.
Today, society’s elites which is comprised of many of our wealthiest citizens and members of a very powerful and entrenched establishment ranging from politicians, the media, opinion and many business leaders are fighting to maintain their power and the status quo in ways that are detrimental to the majority of their fellow citizens.
My personal view of this starts with a casual glance at my W-2. Even as a middle-class New York City resident, my effective marginal tax rate is nearly 40%. Of the total of 40%, I am obligated to pay more than 10% of my income on a state and local basis to the progressive governments run by what I consider to be two of the leading anti-heroes of American politics, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill De Blasio.
Do the costs of living in New York City outweigh the advantages of continuing to do so?
A constant thought on my mind is whether the advantages of living in New York City continue to outweigh the assault on my sensibilities and the life style burdens that dysfunctional and hostile New York State and City governments continue to inflict literally daily on me and so many of my fellow residents. They run governments that grow in size, expense, and scope each year yet fail to deliver even the most basic services adequately.
Meeting the needs of the average taxpayer is often an afterthought on their list of priorities. The rhetoric of my Progressive local politicians such as Cuomo and De Blasio are based on delivering messages regarding the unfairness of life for many of our citizens and the need for government to be the primary agent of change.
Their agenda is oriented to appeal to a highly entrenched liberal line-up of wealthy Democrats that are members of the business, entertainment, arts and media elite. Key constituents also include the union dominated State and Municipal work forces, the dependent poor who are often members of minority groups and newly arrived legal and illegal immigrants.
The electorate is being led to believe that progress can be made and that a greater role for government can potentially make a positive impact to improve the lives of many in the state, however, the fact is that New York ranks number one in losing residents to other states.
A similar scenario that played out on a national level and came to a head with the Presidential Election of 2016. Fault lines between various segments of our country’s population emerged to a point that made the election of President Trump possible.
Hillary Clinton was perceived as the candidate aligned with the failed policies of the outgoing Obama Administration. If elected, Clinton would have continued the move of America to a European Socialist economic model with an even larger role for Big Government in our lives. America’s economic decline over the years was directly related to our movement towards embracing Socialism. This trend accelerated under President Obama. Clinton’s agenda was aligned with the Globalist oriented policies of the Obama Administration and promoted various aspects of the pairing of grievance and identity politics as centerpieces of the agenda. It was another in a continual series of attempts to make even more groups of people increasingly dependent on Government.
Trump united himself with the interests of working- and middle-class Americans and they came to the polls in sufficient numbers to make the difference and enable him to be elected. He leveraged both his celebrity status and his very visible track record as a successful businessman as the candidate that would actively fight for them and place American interests first in his conduct of his Administration.
Who can grow the economy and create increased prosperity for all Americans?
President Trump with less than two years in office has arguably accomplished more than any American President in a comparable time frame. The list of positive achievements is impressive. Topping the list, is the improvement in our overall economic performance and the rise of income across the board for all groups of Americans including women, members of minority groups and workers without a college education. At the same time, the Democrats and their establishment allies fight Trump literally by any means available both legally and often times illegally to preserve their power, position, privileges and control over our country and their fellow citizens.
Is the current violence occurring in Paris a preview of our near-term future?
It is a similar story in many other countries including France where a large number of citizens have taken their fight to the streets of Paris protesting increases in fuel prices through taxation that have a direct significantly negative impact on their lives. Paris is their center of government, wealth and power so it is where this uprising was targeted. The violence and protests turned very ugly and should be a warning to us in this country.
However, our media is not reporting as is their deliberate practice the real story of the class dominated fault lines between the French elites and their citizens at play. It can be said that similar stories are playing out in the U.K. with Brexit, Germany with the political defeat of Merkel and new populist governments in Italy and Brazil. In all these countries, powerful forces are lined up in opposition across ever broadening fault lines. Socialism has started down the path of retreat while Trump style populism is ascendant.
The battle between the parties on either side of the fault lines will be monumental and most importantly will define the character of the type of world we will live in. As difficult as it will be, we all hope the rifts can be resolved peacefully. This may not be possible.
The RightQuestions 