The average person in America does not hate capitalism. We strive to become the embodiment of the American dream “Capitalist”-- to build something out of nothing, to become successful, to become wealthy and leave an abundance of knowledge and financial stability in a legacy that teaches without words, but with actions and life experiences.
The perversion of capitalism has destroyed America and vilanized the concept of free enterprise. The love for money over all else has corrupted the sacred American dream. Blatant disregard for human well-being along with corporate greed has changed the landscape forever. The mass deregulatory initiatives imposed throughout the last two decades, has only helped to plunge this country into a recession and enable corporate wrongdoing. With agencies put in place to oversee fair and legal operations disbanded, there was no safety net for large scale corporate scandals such as, Enron and the mortgage calamity, to name a few.
Led by Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and the powers that be on Wall St., this country fell to a new low. They corroborating with lobbyist to force federal deregulation of the financial industry and in turn encouraged people to refinance with complex derivatives, and promoted predatory lending from Countrywide bank and collaterized debt obligations (CDO) from AIG, ultimately destroying the economy and the America we love.
The CDO and Complex Derivative scandal, where Wall Street placed bets on both growth and loss of securities and mortgages and used our pensions and savings to hedge those bets, dismantled most of working-class Americans retirement savings, and their was no plan to cover the losses. Social Security is dissipating and Medicare and Medicaid on the chopping block. The future of America is looking bleak. But with all the Wall Street scandal no one feels safe handing over their hard earned money to effectively save for an adequate retirement.
Now unemployment nationally is over 9% leaving countless Americans struggling to make ends meet , living week to week. Why hasn’t it improved? Because Congress is fighting internally for power and the Tea Party is gaining more control over the Republican party with their vow of not raising taxes for the richest 1% of America, even though taxes have been at their lowest in the past 50+ years. I see no end in sight. Mass outsourcing has decimated cities like Detroit-- once known as the flourishing area at the forefront of automobile production is now hit with high unemployment, struggling to reinvent from an industrial town hurt by jobs sent overseas. Look closely at our communities; they’re trying to dismantle our only fighting chance to fair, equitable wages, and decent employment by abolishing unions. Victories like the Flint sit-down shows the power we have if we unite as one, utilize our voting power to demand change.
In addition to the economic downfall of our country, Rising college costs coupled with continuous budget cuts to education reduces the chances of our youth receiving a well-rounded, high-quality education that will prepare them for a growing, global 21st century economy and workforce. They’ll be forced to take out high-interest student loans with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (also victims of corporate greed), leading to a cycle of debt and poverty.
How long will we stand by and watch as just the richest 1% of Americans continue to prosper, while the remaining 99% of people live in less than acceptable situations—caught up in government scams, not being able to afford or maintain the simplest luxuries like a home to call their own, which is part of the ‘American dream.’ We need to instill the values we were raised on back into our communities. One value highlighted in the book, “The Magic Ladder to Success” written by Napoleon Hill says, “Love people more than you love money.”
It is commonly said that the people always left behind to suffer are the poor, but I don’t believe that… it’s the uninformed and uneducated who are left behind to be poor. Learning starts at home. I beg each one of us to take the initiative and inform the people around you so they can inform their friends and family about the failures and inadequacies of our government. Start asking questions about what’s going on in your community, and stop just letting things happen because you think you don’t have a voice. Did you know that because President Clinton signed into law the Anti terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 which, “reduced new trials for convicted criminals and sped up their sentences by restricting a federal court's ability to judge whether a state court had correctly interpreted the U.S. Constitution," that it has been cited as one of the reasons why Troy Davis was denied a new trial.
Realistically speaking, I have brought all these facts up to help everyone become more visibly aware of what’s really going on in our society and to spark an awakening of sorts. Highlighting the need to not only pay attention to just your daily responsibilities, but becoming aware of what’s going on in the world around you which will ultimately affect your future as well as your children’s.
