An open letter to President Trump about freedom

Latest


 
Mr. Trump, you recently declared that America “will never be a socialist country.” You said, “We are born free, and we will stay free.”
But how “free” are the common people of America? Fifty percent of Americans live in poverty or near-poverty. One in six Americans faces hunger each day. Nearly one third of our people either have no health insurance or inadequate insurance./home/cliff/LRNA/WebSites/working.peoplestribune/PT.2019.03/pt.2019.03.03_trump.jpg
/home/cliff/LRNA/WebSites/working.peoplestribune/PT.2019.03/pt.2019.03.03_trump_100.jpg
Each year, 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness, including more than a million children. Over 7 million are at imminent risk of being homeless. Jobs have been disappearing, wages have stagnated for years, and the cost of living continues to rise. Meanwhile the value of public assistance has dropped, and it’s harder for people to get.
But public assistance is easy for big business to get. Many employees at corporations such as Amazon, Walmart, Burger King, McDonald’s and American Airlines are paid so little, they rely on public assistance programs to get by. Walmart gets a $6.2 billion-a-year subsidy from government in the form of public assistance for Walmart employees. And 52% of all fast-food workers rely on public assistance. It’s great that these workers can get this help, but clearly the people are subsidizing the profits of big business.
Countless other government subsidies go to corporations and billionaires. Look at your 2017 tax cuts—65% of it will go to the richest fifth of Americans. And incidentally, Mr. Trump, what about the $885 million in tax breaks, grants and other subsidies that you received for your luxury apartments, hotels and office buildings in New York?
While these public subsidies are not real socialism, it certainly looks like you and your billionaire buddies enjoy at least a form of socialism, and it doesn’t seem to have restricted your freedom any. What we, the people, need is a government that will kick the wealthy out of the public trough and instead guarantee the people’s freedom and well-being at least as well as government has done for you and your rich friends.
Sincerely,
The American People

PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Pushing People into a Really Bad System Will End Really Badly

President Trump's executive order fuses drug use and homelessness, ignoring that homelessness can cause or exacerbate substance use because people use drugs to cope with pain. Forced institutional settings rather than housing will not help the ill or unhoused.

Chicago Resistance Speaks: ‘Until All Are Free, None Are Free’

An uprising is growing as the government tries to impose a dictatorship. Chicago resistance leaders recently offered their thoughts in public remarks made at demonstrations and press conferences.

Los Angeles Continues to Rebuild and Resist

Angelinos, suffering from the profit over people economy, continue to rebuild after the fires and to protest immigration raids, while also experiencing joy in such difficult times.

Chicago Teachers Union Says: Trump, Stay Out of Our City

Chicago Teachers Union rejects any unlawful federal occupation of their city, while welcoming federal leadership that fully funds public education, restores SNAP, and expands Medicaid to healthcare for all.

Journalist Says Why ‘I Can No Longer Work With Reuters’

A photojournalist says why it is impossible for her to maintain a relationship with Reuters "given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza."

More from the People's Tribune