This will not be the only time I address this issue, I promise you, but capitalism has done all it can do in our country. It is time that we open our eyes to whats really going on and realize the impacts on society that are clearly evident. How is our country bankrupt? I understand that our country is in more debt to China than we can probably ever pay back, and Reaganomics didn’t help matters any, but why is unemployment on the rise? Why can’t we afford extra-curricular activities in our school districts? Why does 2% of the population have more money than the rest of us combined? Why isn’t anything being done to reverse this?

Is it surprising that the highest campaign contributors are corporations? When you think about how much it cost to run for President, it’s shouldn’t be. Is it surprising that most of those contributors donate to both candidates? And not just to the candidates, but to the National Parties as well? The motive is fairly obvious. Corporations want to make sure they’re being protected by the government, regardless of who wins.

And protected they are. Right now, large corporations are asking for tax cuts. Yep, cuts, when our nation is facing an enormous debt crisis and we’re battling recession. The people who have the money are paying less than usual, and the government is expected to be able to afford to address social problems effectively. You don’t need to be an economist to realize that it is absurd for our nation to be self-sufficient and prosperous when a ridiculously small demographic controls an overwhelming majority of the wealth. It takes money to make money, and with almost no money (relatively) in circulation, it shouldn’t be surprising that our economy, locally and nationally, is tanking. We’re turning our recession around, but at what cost to Americans?

Well, for one, income taxes are expected to rise, on the state and federal level. If you’re a small business owner , you already know how hard it is to battle Wal-Mart, and with the new health care plan (which is absolutely necessary), you now have to afford to pay your employees’ benefits. If you’re a teacher, or any government employee for that matter, you might be a little worried you’re collective bargaining rights are in jeopardy. Our unemployment rates are higher than they have ever been in the history of our nation. The stock market crashed as hard as it did before the Great Depression. We have the second highest infant mortality rate among developed nations (just behind Slovakia). The government can’t even pass a budget, and they’re threatening a shut down of the federal government. Yet, we have one of the highest GDP’s in the world, and still wealthier than almost every other nation (at least we can thank corporations for something).

If anyone brings up government intervention, republicans go nuts. I can just hear it echoing now, “Why should I have to pay for them?”, “them” being Americans requiring help from social programs. What’s ironic is that if we keep heading in the direction we’re heading, those same conservatives are going to require the same government assistance. If anyone argues that we should institute much higher tax burdens on corporations, they’re labeled a socialist.

According to Sean Hannity of Fox News, “if you’re against capitalism, you’re against freedom.” Oh, Hannity, the way you emasculate those evil, violent socialists in the name of freedom is so revering. It is the media that makes socialism a four-letter word. Not surprising, these media outlets are owned and supported by corporate funding. Remember, corporations own everything. Through the media, corporations also have us insisting that regulating the economy is a slippery slope. They have most of the nation believing that it is not the governments place to take away our “financial freedom”. Just like Hannity said, it isn’t our right to take away their money. As we defend our financial freedoms, we become vulnerable to the exploitation of capitalism. The rich keep getting richer, and we keep getting poorer. The poorer are the ones who are left with the financial burden of keeping our nation afloat.

It isn’t freedom you’re against if you question capitalism. In fact, it’s equality you’re against if you don’t question it. It’s capitalism that is creating the division between rich and poor. And it is capitalism that is allowing for corporations to be in control of our government. Capitalism and democracy weren’t meant to work together this long. The majority is supposed to be the most powerful entity in democracy, but in capitalism, a miniscule minority owns nearly all the money, (which equates to power). The two don’t harmoniously coincide like the picture Sean Hannity is painting. It’s about time the majority reclaims the power it deserves.

Klein, Ezra. “What Americans think about income inequality in one graph.” Graph from Michael I. Norton, Harvard Business School, and Dan Ariely, Duke University. The Washington Post 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.