The once great United States of America is on the verge of what could be called "The American Winter". I say is in reference to the Arab Spring, but I don't think "The American Winter" will turn violent.
With signs indicating that the US might be headed into another recession, one has to think how will they get out of soaring debt, high unemployment, and a political system that's on the verge of being controlled by The Tea Party.
A recent chart came out which listed the ratio of CEO's pay to that of the average worker. In Canada the ratio was 20:1, in England the ratio was 22:1, in Mexico the ratio was 47:1, but in the United States the ratio was 475:1. So for the earnings of 475 workers would equal that of 1 CEO. Yes CEO's are the leaders of their companies, and they are considered the one's who create jobs, but this is just nuts.
When we had the financial meltdown in the United States which was created by the major banks and Wall Street, not one CEO ended up in jail, and in fact they were bailed out by the Federal government using tax payers money from the average American worker. What really gets to me is the fact that some of the CEO's who made millions, paid less tax then a worker who earns $ 50,000 a year. Don't get me wrong I'm all for people making money, but when you nearly destroy the banking and financial system in the United States you don't deserve the pay that you get, you deserve to be thrown in jail for financial mis-management.
The United States is facing a 14 trillion plus national debt, and declining tax revenues to service the debt because of what is considered an unfair tax system. Obama is right when he says that the rich should pay their fair share of taxes. Clinton had it right in the 1990's when he raised taxes on the top 1% of Americans, and he was able to wipe out the federal deficit and left office with a massive budget surplus. Then came George W. Bush who lowered taxes for the rich, entered into 2 wars and ran up a massive debt.
Some on the right will argue that if you raise taxes on the top 1% of American wage earners they will not invest in creating jobs. This logic from the Tea Party / Republicans is just insane. Bush lowered taxes, and it did not help create any new jobs, and in fact it allowed the rich to take more of their money and stick it in some off shore tax haven. Some have suggested that it might be fair to introduce a flat tax system in the United States so everyone pays a certain percentage regardless if they make $ 50,000 a year or 100 million a year. This idea to me sounds great, and it also sounds fair, but we all know that the right will never agree to this.
So what does this mean for the future of the United States? Well it means that if the United States does not change their tax system to increase revenue, they will be on the verge of bankruptcy, and the last thing the world needs is a bankrupt United States of America.
Until next time!
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