A Letter to Bush and Kerry: What the People Want

by Bill Faber

I direct this column to the presidential candidates Bush and Kerry. I write to give voice to the forgotten citizens of middle America.

My people believe in hard work and fair play. They believe in freedom and they believe America is a blessed land.

In exchange for the devotion of their lives, labors and loves to the nation the people ask for these basics:1. affordable health care and medicine 2. decent jobs to support their families 3. safe neighborhoods and 4. schools that really educate so their kids will get ahead.

But the politics of the nation stand disconnected from the core values of my people. My people work hard, yet lose their jobs. My people believe in America, yet America sends their jobs to China. My people believe in freedom, yet their work places are dictatorships. Workers hold few rights, can’t organize and our women get paid less.

In an era of economic prosperity my people feel anxious and fearful. The economic boom passes over them. They feel left out. None know if his job will be there tomorrow.

Their paychecks holds less power today than in 1979. Plus they must pay rising health insurance premiums. When a medical emergency strikes laid-off families go bankrupt.

The people feel cheated. They work hard, stand loyal and ask only for a fair shake. Instead the leaders give explanations about free trade, marketplace economics and laissez faire capitalism. These serve only to justify the economic dominance of finance and commerce over the lives of the people.

If America’s trade policy changed so that China had to buy as much from America as China dumps on us, then plenty of jobs and people would return to our community. My people would rather have a good American job than a cheap Chinese broom.

To Bush and Kerry the people say forget China; instead remember us. Forget the drug manufacturers; get our parents the medicine they need. Forget the insurance companies; get us affordable medical care. Forget Iraq; fix our schools. Thanks for listening.