The man, in his 50’s, wearing black sunglasses, a black suit with a white shirt and a matching black tie stared at the TV camera, telling his story. In the two and half minute expose, he described his life and how he had found himself out of work for several years and now was nearly 2 or 3 pay checks away from being homeless. He noted that only a few years ago he was middle class with cash to burn, but now he was unable to find a job and pay his bills. He went on to describe how his elderly mother became sick some years ago and then how he had to move to another city to take care of her. He also noted he had two engineering degrees and unable to use them. In ending, the man noted how he would take a job, any job, in order to pay his bills. Now, if you think that this man is a one-off, you know, someone that is not representative of American society in general, you would be wrong.
In fact, according to a recent story on CNN, “The overwhelming majority of Americans believe the economy is rigged.” That’s right. An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that. And it isn’t just by a small percentage. The poll, conducted by Marketplace and Edison Research, revealed that — “seventy-one percent think the U.S. economic system is "rigged in favor of certain groups.” The poll asked a simple question — “Which of the following comes closer to your opinion on the economic system in the U.S. — People could select between three options: 1. The economic system is rigged in favor of certain groups 2. The economy system is fair to all Americans. 3. Don't know. Most selected rigged economy.” The poll even went one step further when it revealed that — “It didn't matter if the person was white, black or Hispanic or whether they identified as Republican, Democrat or Independent. The majority feel the American Dream comes with huge asterisk that reads "only for the favored few.”
But CNN isn’t the only media outlet that is starting to discuss this issue. Just recently, Jesse Williams, an actor best known for his TV role on Grey’s Anatomy, gave a speech at the BET awards in which he said — “A system built to divide, impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do." In that speech, which has since gone viral, he called on his fellow Black celebrities to do their part to fix inequality. And why should the public in general care about another actor with an opinion on something? Well, in this case, CNN noted that 83% of African-Americans believe the economy is rigged.”
Now, if you believe Democrat talking points, then you say that the US economy is going through 50 something quarters of growth, unemployment levels not seen in decades and and and. In fact, according to Obama, life in America has never been more grand, with today is better than yesterday, and tomorrow, well, tomorrow the sky is the limit. In fact, if you look at official government stats, unemployment for white people is under 5%. However, the very same stats for black people is just under 10%. Which, on the face of it, means that whatever situation white America has found itself in, being black means that it is 2x harder. And those are just official stats. Shadowstats.com reports that the real unemployment rate is near 23%, which probably means that black unemployment is double or somewhere in the ballpark of the 40s.
And just who is Shadowstats? And where does it get the figures it uses on its website? Wiki notes that —“Shadowstats is a website that analyzes and makes independent estimates of "real" unemployment statistics, using data such as the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics U-6 unemployment rates that have been de-emphasized by traditional media outlets. The site is authored by consulting economist Walter J. Williams, who holds a BA in Economics and an MBA from Dartmouth College.” So, on the face of it, this is an educated man, making educated guesses in a field that he was trained in.
The economist on his website notes that the way that several key government economic indicators were changed in the early-mid 90s, and that by doing this, it essentially changed the way that official numbers were reported, whitewashing the health of the US economy, and by disappearing an entire group of people, basically allowing them to fall through the cracks. And guess who was in charge at the time? That’s right, a Clinton. Bill Clinton, to be exact. Now, is anyone surprised that a Clinton would somehow obscure the truth to benefit from the “fluid situation”?
As the race to the US presidential election draws closer and as people celebrate Independence Day, the presumptive nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have begun to sling mud at each other. On one hand, Donald Trump is being called a racist, a bigot, a destroyer of the economy, a womanizer, and worse. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton is being called a serial liar, crooked, corrupt, and the quintessential corporate insider that represents the 1%. Although Trump may be the one that lights the match that burns the American economy to the ground, he did pose a very good question when he suggested that Hillary would continue policies that benefit only a small group of people, being an insider herself. This situation begs the question — “Can a leopard change its spots?”
So, what do you think dear listeners — “Does America have a future?”
