Letter to the editor: Make America prosperous again for all, not just the few

With FDR’s progressive policies, strong unions and investment in public education in the mid- to late- 1900s, the United States had the first world-class middle class.

The 1950s, ’60s and ’70s were the golden age of middle-class America. People could buy homes for the first time, and their children could go to college. Then came the 1980s with Reaganomics, the trickle-down theory and the concept that greed is good and government is the problem. These ideas resulted in the shrinking of the middle class.

Today with such massive inequality, we have the ultra-wealthy attacking the very programs that created our once thriving middle class and the prosperity that came with it. Big Money continues to assault unions with right-to-work laws (which means right to work for less) while CEOs are outrageously compensated and industries are recording unheard-of profits while benefiting from corporate welfare. They continue to oppose a living wage for all working Americans, and this greed is putting an extra strain on an already struggling middle class.

Big Money continues to assault progressive policies by stating that they want to shrink government and debt when, in fact, our debt is caused by tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

Power, money and accountability can be challenged by numbers and voters. If the American people come together for the greater good, we could reclaim our middle class and the prosperity that comes with it. We could demand an end to the financialization of our economy and its obscene income and wealth inequality.

Katie Forsythe

North Huntingdon