As Herman Melville said: "Of all the preposterous assumptions made by human beings, nothing exceeds the criticisms against the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed." Now Joseph J. Adamson brings that point home, exposing the preposterous assumptions and claims made by the Reaganites and Bushites who blame the victims and ignore all the facts and evidence that proves them wrong.

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The rich get richer while the poor get poorer. That phrase has been said so many times it has become a worn-out cliche. Practically no one talks about it any more, and most people just think nothing can be done about it. So it has just gotten worse and worse during the last 27 years, especially in America.

Even worse, when a good, conscientious, influential person does bring the subject up as a political issue, rich right-wing conservatives immediately accuse the good person of "trying to start class warfare." They claim that the American political-economic system is fair. They claim that the rest of us do not get poorer because the richest few get even richer. Some of them even claim that their wealth is a "reward from God." And they claim that all wealthy people deserve what they have, that the poor simply deserve their lot, and that poverty is an inevitable, natural condition created by the poor themselves.

Almost none of that is true, and it's time to acknowledge that the huge and increasing income gap and income disparity is simply not fair, nor is it "natural." And the inequitable distribution of wealth is absolutely not fair or natural, despite what those who profit from it claim.

For example, it absolutely not fair or natural that 90 percent of the total wealth of the nation is pilfered, hoarded and controlled by the wealthiest one percent of the population.

It is not fair or natural that in recent years the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of large American corporations raked in at least 500 times more income than average workers, and at least 1,000 times more than their lowest paid employees.

It is not fair or natural that the wealthiest few live so very luxuriously and even palatially, while the working poor who work full time and sometimes have to take two jobs to try to support their families, cannot afford some of the most basic necessities of life, like sufficient food, housing, medicine, utilities, transportation, etc.

It is not fair or natural that the disabled and elderly have to live on such meager fixed incomes that they are even less able to afford the most basic necessities of life.

It is not fair or natural that even according to the obsolete and far too low "official" government poverty standard, more than 14 million American children live in poverty. It is not fair that even according to the inaccurate and underestimated government poverty reports, 74 percent of those 14 million poor children live in families with at least one parent working full time! And it is especially not fair that the actual numbers are far higher than that.

It is not fair or natural that about 20 percent of the population live below the poverty line, which has pretty much been true even since the early 1960s, when that fact was first pointed out in Michael Harrington’s book, The Other America. That 20 percent figure has remained incredibly steady ever since, even though it has fluctuated somewhat, but it got even worse since the so-called "Welfare Reform" established by the Republicans in 1996 (even though the "official" government statistics now don’t reflect how bad it actually is). That legislation not only made things worse, it has prevented us from being able to accurately know how bad the situation is. (But, actually, we can have a very good idea of how bad it is, simply by knowing how badly needed all the homeless shelters, food banks, soup lines, and toy drives are. If we know about and consider all that, we really do know how bad it actually is.)

It is also not fair or natural that credit card companies can charge hidden fees and raise interest rates, virtually robbing people. It is not fair or natural that predatory lending companies can get away with "payday loans" that charge interest rates that are so unfairly high they used to only be charged by criminal "loan sharks." And it is not fair or natural that bigger predatory lending companies and banks can get away with charging "variable interest rates" that they can raise so high that is has caused many families to have their homes taken away from them in foreclosures.

None of that is fair or natural, and there are many other things going on that are just as unfair. And there is just no way that anyone can honestly and truthfully claim otherwise.

I tell you truly, the problem is systemic. It is the result of deliberate, legislated, legalized inequity and injustice. It is cold-heartedly planned and calculated, and corrupt legislators have enabled corrupt business and corporate executives who have bribed the corrupt legislators. And it is high time we deal with it, and fix it.

Don't get me wrong, though. I am not saying that the people responsible for the unfairness and inequity are "evil" people. Not necessarily. I believe that in most cases they may actually believe they are doing the right thing for the country. They may actually believe that if the rich get richer it will benefit everyone. But they are simply wrong about that, and they believe in a right-wing partisan political ideology that was originated to serve the interests of the wealthy few, and over time it has been carefully crafted to appear as if it's the "right" way for patriotic, religious Americans to conduct their political and private business affairs.

Furthermore, I am not saying there's anything wrong with being wealthy if you deserve it. There are some people who very much deserve to be reasonably wealthy, and there is nothing wrong with that. Those who are hard working deserve to be amply rewarded for their hard work, and those who are hard working and highly talented and skilled deserve to be richly rewarded.

However, many of the wealthiest few are really not deserving of the immense wealth they've managed to amass, and no one deserves to be as absurdly and excessively wealthy as some of the wealthiest few are now. The fact is that they have benefitted from and taken advantage of a very unfair, inequitable political-economic system that serves and caters to the wealthy few, at the expense of the majority, the environment, the infrastructure, and everything else.

The trouble is, right-wing conservative Republican politicians have persistently and dishonestly claimed otherwise. Even worse, hypocritical right-wing conservatives who claim and pretend to be "Christian" leaders have persistently colluded with them, and pushed and sold the absurd idea that great wealth is a reward from God, and that the poor deserve their lot because they don't work hard enough and don’t have true faith in God.

Perhaps even worse than that, some right-wing conservative Republican organizations have even presented so-called "research" that is misleadingly designed to "prove" that poverty doesn't even exist. For example, they point out that many low income families can afford television sets and other "luxury" items, and they conclude that therefore these families are not poor. But those right-wing conservatives stoop very low to try to deceive people with that kind of propaganda, and they simply ignore or deny that there are very good reasons why so many people are driven to crime, why so many children are hungry and malnourished, and why food banks and soup lines and food stamps and toy drives and homeless shelters are so badly needed by so many people.

Unfortunately, cold-hearted right-wing conservatives have succeeded in fooling a whole lot of gullible, uninformed or misinformed people, who have bought their lies and consider them as truth. That's why so many people mistakenly think poverty is either inevitable or non-existent. And, if they are faced with evidence of it, as most of us increasingly are, they just look the other way.

Remember, the Christ Jesus said: "For I was hungry, but you gave me no food. I was thirsty, but you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, but you did not take me in. I was naked, but you did not clothe me. I was sick, and in prison, but you id not visit me. Then they shall ask him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not care about you?" (Matthew 25:42-44) And Jesus gave the answer when he said, "As you do unto the least of our brethren, so you do unto me."

Most Christians do not understand that Jesus said that knowing that it would be just as appropriate right now, at the end of the age, as it was then. In fact, he provided full clarification of that when he said: "I tell you the truth; It is to your advantage that I go away: for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him to you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in me [or my teachings]; of righteousness, because I go to our Father [to heaven] and you see me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself [or claim authority for himself]; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he declare, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall declare it to you." (John 16:7-15)

In the Spirit of truth I deliver that prophesied message, and it is directed especially at America not only because it is the most influential nation in the world, but because under Reaganism (and Bushism, which is an expanded continuation of Reaganism) it most represents the symbolic "Babylon" of prophecy. And I tell you truly that we must now face the fact that even the American political-economic system is unfair and inequitable, and the conditions under which so many people have to live because of it are not inevitable, natural conditions.

It is time to expose the right-wing conservative political claims about economic "realities" as some of the biggest lies ever told. Because we, the people, can do something about it. In fact, we can eliminate hunger, poverty, and homelessness if we finally use the common wealth for the common good.

First, however, everyone needs to know the full story about the cause and the impact of poverty, because unless we all are aware of what the problem is, we cannot fix it. I've told you about some of the unfairness, but I need to tell you much more.

Of course, in America we all know that the rich have gotten much richer while the poor have gotten much poorer. We all know that the highest incomes keep getting higher while the lowest incomes keep getting lower, and low and even middle incomes have less buying power. We know the middle class is shrinking, and more and more people are falling into the working poor population. But there is much that most Americans do not know, or do not want to face.

In America there are tens of millions of people working full time but are still living in poverty because their income is simply not adequate and they do not receive a living wage. Far more than half of American citizens live hand-to-mouth, and are in debt and one or two paychecks away from financial disaster.

Increasing numbers of people are becoming worse off financially, while most of the wealth is increasingly being distributed to and hoarded by a relative few. Today, consequently, about 35 million Americans suffer from "food insecurity," which means that they often don't have enough money or resources to get food. Twenty-four million of them suffer from "low food insecurity," which means they go hungry or are at-risk of going hungry most of the time. And this is according to government reports that are based on grossly outdated formulas for determining poverty, so the actual numbers are far greater than that.

About 40 million Americans cannot afford health insurance. Most high school graduates cannot afford to go to college, and most of those who do make it to college are forced to depend on student loans and go deeply and hopelessly in debt because they have to borrow a lot of money to go to and graduate from college. Most newlyweds and working poor families cannot afford to buy a home and have to pay absurdly high rents, and face skyrocketing costs for food, utilities, medicine, health care, insurance, etc.

Many severely disabled Americans are denied Social Security Disability benefits, even if and when their eligibility is questionable. In fact, this has become so unfair due to the policies of right-wing Reaganites that there are many American law firms that make a good living by dedicating themselves solely to winning appeals for disabled Americans who have been unfairly denied Social Security benefits. But, in spite of that, the Social Security Administration officials have been ordered to maintain their policies because most disabled people who've been unfairly denied benefits do not realize it, and they accept the denial and suffer in silence.

Indeed, most Americans are suffering in one way or another from the consequences of Reaganism (which some have now called Bushism). The disabled or dislocated or dispossessed or downtrodden poor and the working poor suffer especially, because the attitude of the New Right Republican Conservatives amounts to "It's every man for himself." They claim we should be "self-reliant" and not "depend on government." That, however, is a ruse, and it has allowed them to increasingly shirk their responsibilities and pay far less than their fair share of taxes.

Consequently, the majority of people suffer in one way or another, while the wealthiest few live palatially in lavish luxury because they rake in, hold and control most of the wealth.

The trouble is not only that many people have been led to believe it's an inevitable and natural situation. It's more than that. We have also been kept in the dark about the real cause and impact of the injustice and inequity.

For instance, most people do not know that in America the wealthiest ten percent of the U.S. population -- about 30 million people -- hold 90 percent of all the stocks.

Most people do not know that in America the wealthiest one percent (about 3 million people) hold about 90 percent of the total wealth of the nation, and about half of all the stocks.

Most people do not know that in America the wealthiest one percent also provide 80 percent of all financial contributions to the campaigns of politicians in both parties, and thus they are able to wield a considerable amount of control over the country. And the situation has gotten even worse during the last 27 years, because under Reaganism and Reaganomics (which Clinton couldn't stop and Bush continued and expanded), the distribution of wealth has been increasingly flowing to those who were already the wealthiest.

Now we all have to understand how and why this situation was created, and look at it with a historical perspective.

Money has always ruled, and laws have always enabled the wealthy to use their wealth to gain more wealth. That tradition carried over from Europe, and it flourished in America even though it was, in many cases, unfair.

By the early 20th Century (1900s) it had become absurdly unfair in America. There were no labor unions, and the wealthiest few ruled completely, and often ruthlessly. When the Industrial Revolution ramped up, some people got very wealthy, especially those who owned and operated businesses in the oil/gas and motor vehicle industry. And they brutally put down any movements to organize workers or protest the unfairness.

The very wealthiest few flaunted their wealth and lived like European aristocracy, with live-in servants, maids, chauffeurs and gardeners. They became very corrupt, and they abused the power that their great wealth gave them. Then, inevitably, their indulgences, excesses and carelessness helped lead to the stock market crash of 1929, and to the worst and longest depression America has ever been through. (See the page on Little Known American History.)

Fortunately, the actions and the New Deal of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s improved the situation considerably for several decades. Workers were able to organize and establish some rights. The American "middle class" grew very large and strong. And America, as a whole, became great.

But, when the New Right (also called the Neo-Conservative Movement) came to power in 1980 with Republican President Ronald Reagan, things started to get considerably worse again. Even when Democratic President Bill Clinton was in office in the 1990s he could not stop Reaganism, because too many Americans simply did not realize that Reagan was actually a right-wing demagogue who thumped his bible, waved his flag and rattled his sword in order to appeal to the pride, prejudices and egotism of many American nationalists. Many Americans also did not realize that Reagan actually served the wealthiest few at the expense of the majority.

That's why Reaganite (New Right) Republicans were still able to control Congress while President Clinton was in office, and it is why all the political and corporate corruption increased and grew so rampant.

Then, when Reaganite Republican George W. Bush gained presidential power by hook and by crook in 2000, the situation got drastically worse. And I'll tell you how and why.

Consider that in 1982 before Reaganism took hold, there were only 13 billionaires in America, and by 2004 there were 313 billionaires in America.

Furthermore, by 2004 the ten wealthiest of those 313 American billionaires managed to have raked in a total of $209 Billion ($209,000,000,000) just among the ten of them.

In March 2006 Forbes Magazine reported that there were then a record 793 multi-billionaires in the world. Twenty years ago there were only 140, so clearly the rich are getting much richer. Incredibly richer. Reaganism has affected the whole world, because it has helped to make it seem proper to be extremely wealthy, to flaunt that wealth, and to even be proud of having so much more than everyone else. In other words, many people have been tempted, deceived, and corrupted by Reaganite ideology.

The average net worth of those 793 billionaires in 2004 was $3.3 billion, and they were able to accumulate a total of $2.6 Trillion ($2,600,000,000,000) among them, which is 18 percent more than just one year before.

Bill Gates is still the wealthiest, having accumulated $50 Billion by 2004. And, by the way, even though he can well afford to be charitable, he probably writes off his charitable donations to reduce his tax liability. Granted, since he got married he probably really means to be beneficent with his charitable foundation, but I suspect he doesn't give up much if any of his wealth because of it. Such foundations are usually designed to avoid paying a fair amount of taxes, because the amount "given" in charitable donations is essentially gotten back in savings on reduced tax liability. So, while the money from foundation grants certainly does a lot of good, it means that the wealthy "donors" are enabled to not pay anywhere near their fair share of taxes, and thus the revenue of the national treasury is that much less than it should be.

By the way, I discussed this issue fully in my second book, and explained why this situation also enables the wealthy to determine where and how large amounts of money, which should rightfully go into the people's national treasury, should be spent. That is not how it should work, because we should ensure that the common wealth is used for the common good. That is, we should ensure that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes so our government can do what good government should do -- ensure domestic tranquility; establish justice; keep the peace; promote the general welfare; provide for public safety, health, education and child care; provide for the common defense; build and maintain our infrastructure; and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

As it is, the U.S. Government really does only one of those things adequately, which is to have mighty police and military forces to protect and gain more wealth for the wealthiest few. But, in far too many cases justice does not prevail, domestic tranquility is not ensured, our infrastructure is not maintained properly, the general welfare is not promoted, many cannot afford health care or higher education or child care, and the blessings of liberty are not enjoyed by all.

That's largely because most of the wealth of the nation has actually "trickled" UP to those who were already the wealthiest. There were forty-four new American billionaires joining Gates during the last year, and they now total 372, which means nearly half of all the billionaires in the world are Americans. Twenty-three of them are among the top fifty most wealthy people in the world.

But no wonder! Just in the decade of the 1990s the Reaganite Republican controlled Congress enabled or allowed the income of corporate Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to rise 481 percent! The combined yearly income of America's five highest paid CEOs in 1999 was a staggering $1.2 Billion.

To show you the rate of increase, back in 1980 the average CEO of a major American corporation was paid 42 times more than an average American worker. By 1990, CEOs were paid 85 times more than workers. By 1999 (after Congress was controlled by Republicans for just five years), CEOs were paid 476 times more than the average worker. Now, many of them are paid even more, and it now amounts to over 500 times more than the average worker and about a thousand times more than their lowest paid employees, and sometimes much more. And it's only getting worse. In 2005 CEO pay rose 22 percent more, while the average worker's pay rose only 3 percent.

This is in stark contrast to the situation in other countries. For example, German CEOs make only 13 times what the average manufacturing employee makes. In Japan, CEOs make only 11 times more. Even in England, where class distinctions are sharp, CEOs are paid just 35 times more. It might make sense that the highest paid executives be paid ten times more, but there is no reason whatsoever for American CEOs raking in 500 times more than the average worker and a thousand times more than their lowest paid employees. That is absurdly unfair and unconscionable. There is absolutely no excuse for it.

Speaking of comparing the U.S. to other places, Americans should know that in Western Europe workers don't even have to collectively bargain for a lot of worker benefits. Whether they belong in a union or not, most Western European workers get from four to six weeks of paid vacation per year, free prenatal care, long maternity leaves, longer parental leave, free child care, free health care, and much longer sick leave than in America. Furthermore, such benefits are guaranteed by the government. They are not something that had to be fought for by labor unions. Of course, they pay taxes accordingly, but fairly and willingly, because they get what they pay for.

By contrast, because of Reaganism, Americans generally don't get what we pay for because all the cream is scraped off the top by the wealthy few. Because of corrupt politicians and their inequitable and unfair laws, American businesses and corporations have been enabled to indulge in price gouging and cut workers benefits, health insurance, and even pensions. America is going way backwards, while many other countries in the world are going forward because they realize that the better workers are treated, the better off everyone is.

Yet, in spite of that, George W. Bush has berated the European models, and said that America "doesn't want to be like Europe." Obviously, this is just one more way that he serves the interests of the wealthiest few Americans.

A big part of the problem, as I've mentioned, has to do with the fact that 80 percent of all political financial contributions are made by the wealthiest one percent of the population to politicians in both political parties. The politicians in turn create or expand business-friendly legislation, and they also cut taxes for the wealthiest few people and their large corporations who provide the most financial support to their political campaigns. To reciprocate and reward their supporters, the politicians create more subsidies, tax loopholes, tax shelters and government giveaways, which so obviously benefit the wealthy few that conscientious critics have called it "welfare for the rich."

The result is that tax revenue is sharply reduced for the federal and state governments, which ultimately results in drastic cuts in funding for human services for people most in need, and it doesn't stop there. Also sacrificed are vital public services having to do with health care, public safety, public schools, public infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.) and many other badly needed things. Then, the resulting socio-economic decline is used to justify further tax cuts for the wealthy, on the misleading and deceptively false theory (previously called "Reaganomics") that their increased wealth will "trickle down" throughout the whole economy and benefit everyone.

The very wealthy few think that's great, of course, and their conservative Reaganite politician puppets claim that it shows how great the American system is. But they perpetuate the Big Lie. It's actually tragic and catastrophic, because while the rich keep getting much richer, the poor keep getting poorer and the middle class keeps shrinking because more and more workers are slipping into the working poor population.

Unfortunately, as I said at the beginning of this page, when anyone raises that point, the Reaganites accuse them of waging "class warfare" and claim that the political-economic system is fair and just. In fact, they are proud of the America they have created. They like to wave the flag and say "The USA is Number One," and "America is the richest country in the world." But, unfortunately, that's not really true. In fact, it is a lie.

The truth is that while America has been number one militarily and is certainly great in many respects, it ranks low internationally in many areas, such as education, health care, child care, workers rights, workers benefits, etc., and it has higher rates of child poverty, general poverty, hunger, and homelessness than most European countries.

In fact, it could easily be said that the number one country in that respect is Denmark, where most of the people enjoy a very high standard of living and far more freedom in their pursuit of happiness, and the child poverty rate is among the lowest in the world. Denmark is not perfect, of course, but in many respects it is far better than the U.S.A. where the child poverty rate is shamefully the highest in the world.

That is very significant considering that nearly half (372 of 793) of the billionaires in the world live in the U.S.A., while there are no billionaires in Denmark because the Danes more sensibly and more fairly ensure that they share the wealth.

Of course, most Americans are generally very caring and generous, and we want to use the common wealth for the common good. Just look at how generous Americans are in their giving to charitable food drives, toy drives, and relief efforts to victims of natural disasters.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Government rarely represents the people in that respect. It does in rare cases when it becomes absolutely necessary and politically expedient, but it usually represents the wealthy few, especially under Reaganite Republican rule. Consequently the wealth is not shared and the majority of Americans are certainly not rich.

While the highest incomes of the rich few keep increasing, the median (average) household income keeps falling. In fact, the incomes of the richest 20 percent of the population grew by 30 percent during the last two decades while the incomes of the lowest paid 20 percent of us declined by more than 20 percent in the same time period, and the buying power of the minimum wage declined significantly.

Another part of the problem is that a lot of people been led to believe that the American Dream is all about making it to the "top of the financial ladder" in one way or another, or grabbing the "brass ring" of fame and fortune. Even worse, too many people have become tempted and corrupted and think they can make it to the top even if it's by hook or by crook, because they think the end justifies the means. That has become a widespread attitude, demonstrated clearly by many people, and even by he who holds the highest office in the land. But that's just not true and it's not right. The American Dream has been twisted, distorted, and perverted. It's not about the individual rising above everyone else. The real American Dream is actually about equality and prosperity and happiness for all -- not just a privileged few.

We should hold this truth to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, and we are equally deserving to be successful in our pursuit of happiness. We should all be able to be fairly rewarded for our labor and enjoy a reasonable and fair level of prosperity. We all deserve that.

But, we have been going backwards, away from that. That's is the real legacy of Reaganism, and it has had many terrible consequences, the worst of which is that it has increased hunger, homelessness and poverty. That is even indicated by "official" government poverty guidelines, which, as I said, are far too low because they are still based on outdated 1955 assumptions and formulas. The actual number of American children in poverty is about twice the "official" number, which means there are probably about 30 million American children living in poverty. And it's no wonder. Right-wing conservative Reaganites (and Bushites) claim that the poor simply deserve their lot because they are lazy. They claim that the poor merely have to work harder and lift themselves up by their own "bootstraps."

In other words, right-wing conservatives blame the victims. And they are simply wrong.

The truth, as I've said and should repeat, is that 74 percent of the tens of millions of American children who officially live in poverty live in families with at least one parent working full time. And in many of those families both parents have to work, and some of them even have two jobs just to try to make ends meet.

The real truth is that the best antidotes to poverty and hunger are jobs that provide adequate wages to support a family.

Besides that, recent academic research studies demonstrate that child poverty's ill effects in a host of areas cannot be explained away as mere side effects of single parenthood or teen parenthood, or race, or parents' low IQs, or lack of education. The research disproves those who blame poor children's problems on deep-seated traits inherent in poor families. The truth is that the problems caused by poverty are not the by-product of poor motivation, poor values, limited parenting ability, or other deep-seated character traits that some misguided American conservatives attribute to poor families. In fact, the research confirms what many compassionate people already knew, especially those who work in public social service agencies and non-profit agencies and food banks that at least try to help those who really need help.

Furthermore, even though right-wing conservative Reaganite Republicans claim that the working poor simply need to work harder or get a better education to get better jobs to improve their financial situation, someone has to do the jobs they are now doing!

So, the problem is not laziness. The problem is definitely that the incomes of the working poor are simply insufficient and too low. No one who works for a living should be poor. Period.

Poverty can, for the most part, be ended by providing a real living wage to those who work for a living, and by ensuring that the common wealth is used for the common good. And, until we finally accomplish that, poverty can in the meantime be alleviated by supplementing the income of those who have insufficient income and cannot afford the basic necessities of life. For it is our moral obligation and duty to care for the poor and the least of our brethren, especially when they are trying as hard as they can but are foiled by a horribly unfair political-economic system that rewards the rich and punishes the working poor.

It would also help if we reject the absurd Republican folly of cutting taxes for the rich, and ensure that the rich finally pay their fair share of taxes. After all, even before Bush's tax cuts, with all the previous Reaganite tax cuts, tax loopholes, tax shelters, government subsidies, giveaways and welfare for the rich that have been created during the last 27 years, most of the very wealthiest Americans had been paying only about 7 percent of their income in taxes while the working poor with the lowest incomes have been paying about 10.8 percent.

The wealthiest people should pay at least 50 percent of their yearly income in taxes, as they do in many European countries. That is how it should be, without any tax loopholes, shelters, subsidies, etc. And we, the people, can ensure that is the case.

Along with regulating their tax liabilities fairly, we can ensure that the wealthy do not collect Social Security and Medicare benefits. Such benefits should be provided only to those who actually need them. It should be based on an assets and means test, such as the U.S. Veteran's Administration requires of veterans who apply for health care benefits. It should be that only those who really need Social Security and Medicare benefits would receive them, and that, along with the wealthy paying their fair share of taxes, would make the whole system solvent and strong.

We can also ensure that Medicare, Medicaid and the U.S. Veteran’s Administration Medical System is transformed into a new non-profit universal health care system, in which all citizens receive health care and prescription drugs without paying out-of-pocket costs. After all, as it is now, Americans pay more than any other people on earth for health care, and yet the U.S. ranks only 39th in the over all quality of health care!

The U.S. is the only industrialized country in the world that lacks universal public health care. This leaves about forty-two million Americans seriously at risk because they have no health insurance. Most of them have either lost or cannot afford insurance, or were denied it by their cost-cutting employers in order to increase their profit margin. Others are forced to pay for very expensive health insurance from private profit-making insurance companies, and, even though Americans over age 65 have Medicare, it is still lacking in certain significant ways, and seniors find they need supplemental insurance to get adequate coverage for adequate health care and medications.

Besides that, many privatized, for-profit hospitals and other medical facilities have been down-sized and they've reduced their nursing staff to less than a bare minimum to cut expenses and increase profits. Health insurance premiums doubled in recent years, and out-of-pocket costs that are in addition to costly premiums more than doubled. The consequence is that the U.S. health care system us unnecessarily expensive, and it leaves many people uninsured or under-insured. Due to cost-cutting it has become increasingly understaffed and plagued with accidents made by overworked hospital staff. It has many serious faults and shortcomings, all of which would be remedied by a far less expensive, universal, public non-profit health care system.

In spite of all the facts, right-wing "conservative" Republicans don’t want universal health care. They want the status quo, which is very rewarding to the wealthy few, exorbitantly costly to the majority, and often disastrous and sometimes even lethal for the working poor. Even worse, in February 2006 George W. Bush signed a bill that reduced Medicaid and Medicare benefits, and he even said that further cuts must be made. That's because, as I've said in books, he and other Republicans actually want to do away with Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. Like Ronald Reagan before them, they want to destroy the legacy of one of our greatest presidents, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, who actually served the interests of all the people. (And, by the way, the Republican bill Bush signed also cut $11.9 Billion from student loans. And yet, to finance the things that he thinks are important, Bush was quite willing and eager to borrow money and make deficit spending even worse, to the point of running up a national debt that is projected to reach more than $1.3 Trillion by 2010.)

We, the people, must stand up and speak out to stop the absurdity, unfairness and inequity. The American political-economic system was bad enough before Reagan came to power. But in the decades and years since then, and especially since the Reaganite George W. Bush gained power, things have gotten much worse, much more unfair, and much more inequitable.

The wealthy in America must be required to pay their FAIR SHARE of taxes, as they do in Europe, to ensure sufficient revenue to balance the budget and provide what our nation really needs, which is quality public education, public health care, public pre-school child care, public welfare, public safety, good roads, bridges, water systems, utilities, and all the other things that we all need. That’s what good government should provide. And it will when we do what is only fair, to require the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes, which they can well afford.

Also, everyone who works for a living should be paid a decent, adequate living wage. That too would be only fair. To claim otherwise is utterly dishonest, and those who have and still do claim otherwise are not only dishonest, but self-serving, deceptive, and unfair.

I tell you that as we treat the poor and the least of our brethren, so we treat the Lord and our very Self, for we are One in Spirit. That's why this message is so important.

© 2002 - 2007 Joseph J. Adamson

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