To the editor,
The Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is just one more indicator of the grave danger of the collapse of our American democracy, say many of our political analysts.
According to national surveys, a vast majority of Americans are angry because they do not believe that the government is meeting their needs. They have lost faith and trust in their government. This anger has generated many protests over the injustices which exist and over the failure of Congress to revise the laws, rules and regulations which create these injustices. More riots can be expected if the Congress fails to take action soon on these matters. These injustices include everything from clean drinking water to taxes.
One specific example of an injustice that angers the people is our unfair tax system, which strongly favors the wealthy. Even Warren Buffet agrees that it is not fair for his secretary to pay a higher rate of tax on her income from wages than he has to pay on his income from capital gains, carried interest and other business transactions. Likewise, the failure of Congress to fund sufficient IRS staff to audit the wealthy is the failure of Congress to strengthen the regulations and increase the penalties for white collar crime which is committed primarily by the wealthy. Congress has also failed to prohibit the war profiteering of the large corporations in the military-industrial complex. The failure of Congress to prohibit the use of private funds in election campaigns strongly favors the wealthy and is the root of the corruption of our entire political/governmental system. A publicly funded election campaign system is essential to ensure equal opportunity for all candidates.
Seeking out candidates totally committed to correcting these injustices is the way to make America great again and to reclaim our American democracy of the people, by the people and for the people. Now is the time to get started.
ADVERTISEMENT
Monroe Pederson,
Hatton, N.D.
