In the Best Interest of the Public

In the past, there have been laws pass that are defiantly not in the interest of the average citizens, but not all of which are necessarily unconstitutional. I often wonder if our elected officials are in touch with the needs of the masses. In touch with the ill’s that plague our country. Or only looking out for themselves and their wealthy donors. Many others wonder the same. The majority of the legislation has not reflected the best interest of the public as much as it should and in some cases not at all.

Throughout our history we have issues that have never fully been resolved, like regulations, poverty, and other social issues. We have had officials that try to address the major issues and we have had some that break apart existing laws or complete repeal the law that help the majority. For example until the enactment of Glass-Steagall in 1933 we had many panics, recessions and depression, mostly caused by bad business and banking deals. So then is it a complete coincidence that nine years after the repeal of Glass-Steagall in 1999 we have the worst economic crises in almost 80 years? I can’t with any confidence say that there is no link between the two.

With economic crises comes higher poverty and unemployment rates. One cause of poverty is low wage, which is rarely dealt with or raised. The minimum wage has been raised about 21 times since 1938. In the 1980’s the “trickle down” economics was put into play, my personal thought is that big business uses this excuse to pocket more money, while the middle and lower class get less. The truth is that nothing has yet to trickle down, yet some hold to this belief in economic theory. A man that I have come to admire, Pope Francis, articulately and eloquently said “Some people con...

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...them and consequently oppress the lower classes.

I would have to say on this matter, it depends on the person, but I feel that majority are not honestly thinking about the average citizen. I cannot think of one republican that presents themselves in a way that is truly in the interest of the American people. I can think of a few democrats on the national level, Tammy Duckworth, Elizabeth Warren, and my personal favorite Bernie Sanders. I’m sure there are more than that that are genuinely fighting for the majority but it seems that far too many are more interested in their own personal pocket book or personal interest. I feel that I could be more confident in saying that our congress represented the people if there were less of an influence and conflicting interest. Until then I will have to say that I truly believe that they are not representing the American people.