PUTNEY — The so-called president and his merry gang of thieves want us all to believe the economy is booming and that trickle-down economics is lifting all citizens.
Some say that the drug crisis and the lack of affordable housing, as well as stagnating wages, will be improved by this great economic situation, but it only appears to be getting worse. All of these crises could be alleviated with a fraction of the money being showered on the wealthiest Americans through tax cuts and massive corporate profits.
What happened to the “big beautiful infrastructure program” promised by the con man in the White House? That proposal went into the dustbin of history, and we live with potholes, crumbling bridges, deteriorating urban transit, and aging power systems, and we continue to fall far behind the rest of the developed world in every public service.
Denmark's government is on the cutting edge in wind power research. In countries like Japan, high-speed rail lines move people efficiently and cleanly. Until the fools running Donald Trump's economic team imposed punitive tariffs, China's solar panels were making renewable energy affordable and appealing to millions of citizens and municipalities here.
Millions of workers in the largest, most profitable corporations in history, such as Walmart, need food benefits, Medicaid, and other assistance just to survive at the sorry wages these companies pay. Our Bernie Sanders has proposed a bill forcing these companies to reimburse the government for the billions in benefits we pay to these impoverished, hard working people.
Massive tax cuts have gone to the wealthiest Americans and to the biggest corporations. The Republicans can't wait to tell you that the huge hole in the budget created by these giveaways to those who need it least are now the reason your Social Security and Medicare need to be cut.
Don't let anyone tell you that the country is booming. Use your own powers of observation. Do you see the money to make our homes energy-efficient? Are you getting a nice big wage increase? Did you do well with this tax bill? Do you see the increase in people on the streets in every part of the country except the most affluent, exclusive communities? Did we all just experience a horrible, humid, gray summer - a predictable result of climate change? Do you accept the idea that economic justice is not part of economic success?
Please vote in November - send a message to the leadership of the United States. We need an economy that works for us all. In every state, it means electing progressive Democratic and independent leaders. In Vermont, please vote for our candidates who support economic fairness and a clean, sustainable 21st-century infrastructure: Bernie Sanders for U.S. Senate, Christine Hallquist for governor, and David Zuckerman for lieutenant governor.