What are we? Stupid?

This year we will elect a new president. Obama doesn't stand a chance of getting re-elected. I've listened intently to the bile some of these politicians are spewing and it is freightening.

Politicians, like Mitt Romney would have us believe that the one-percent who control the wealth of this country (of which he is one) are the ones who will help us recover from the recession because they are the job creators. They suggest that the one-percent will create a sufficient number of jobs for the remaining ninety-nine percent to again be employed and return the status of this great nation to its former glory... With the proviso that we don’t require them to pay their share of the taxes that the ninety-nine percent of us are required to pay, unemployed or not.

Are we really that stupid? I find it disturbing that so many people are falling for this rhetoric. We have been in this recession for nearly five years and the rich have had tax breaks for longer than that. If these are the people who create the jobs, where are those jobs--and why did people lose their jobs in the first place?

Unemployment has increased significantly since 2007. The powers that be tell us that things are getting better because the numbers show that there are fewer people receiving unemployment benefits. Really? Maybe it’s because the individuals who were getting unemployment have exhausted their benefits and are dropping off the unemployment rolls, causing a decrease in the numbers. The millions of people who have lost their jobs over the past 5 years are, for the most part, still unemployed because not nearly enough jobs have been created to put them all--or even most--back to work. Twice a year, we have thousands of young people who are graduating and joining the work force, essentially squeezing out the older, experienced workers. These inexperienced, young people have never worked before and unquestioningly accept lower salaries and limited benefits. Minimal benefits is fine when you’re young and rarely get anything more than a hangover or a cold. They have no problem with smaller salaries since they can continue live at home with their parents, have fewer expenses or responsibilities than those of their older counterparts. Don't fall for it, unemployment is not getting better, it's getting worse. The homeless problem is growing. So many people have begun receiving welfare, medicaid and food stamps that some of these programs were actually suspended for a time in many states.

And... what will we do about it? Elect another politician with pretty words who says what we want to hear, but once elected does nothing. Or will we break from the status quo this time and get someone who is as outraged at the state of this country as the rest of us are? Probably not...