Middle class the key

We all love our country. What makes it great is the middle class. The people in the middle class are the ones who make the products, mostly for local and national consumption. Almost every dollar earned by the middle class is spent on local housing, buying food and goods in local stores. Each dollar circulates through the area and, at each stop, makes more economic wealth for the city and the country. A vibrant middle class creates a robust economy. That, in turn, creates continued growth and prosperity for the whole of the United States.

We do not need to protect large businesses or the wealthy. They can take care of themselves. We need to help small businesses thrive. We need to put our citizens to work and at pay levels that will sustain a family.

Historically, our periods of growth and prosperity have been when the middle class is expanding and doing well. Our economic slumps, recessions and depressions have often been traceable to exaggerated greed and rapacity in the actions of big business and big finance.

America’s future is, and always has been, tied to the health and growth of the middle class. Let’s hope it continues.

Paula Greenfield

Newport, Wash.