Golden Rule to blame

It’s more than the economy, stupid!

According to a recent Gallup poll, of all the problems facing this country today, the No. 1 concern is the economy. That is followed closely by the related issue of unemployment. Worries over health care, the deficit, our moral decline and poor leadership pale by comparison.

That concern is reflected in a recently released study showing that four out of five Americans will struggle at some point in their lives with joblessness, poverty or the need for welfare. That’s 80 percent! In America! Among whites, 63 percent say the economy is poor.

Yet, since its bottom on March 9, 2009, the Dow Jones industrial average has grown 237 percent. Clearly, the stock market is doing great, as are those holding the investments. And therein lies the rub. Only a select and fortunate few hold those investments. Primarily the top 1 percent. For the rest, unemployment is still unacceptably high.

We know there is an income gap and a wealth gap that has grown steadily since the decade of greed, the 1980s.

So, why is this happening? For me the answer is simple, The Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rules.

Bob Wynhausen

Sandpoint