America is badly divided. Trust in our basic institutions — government, business, the schools, the media, even religion — has seriously eroded. The Founders of our country wanted the various colonies to be united (hence the name, United States). They adopted the motto “E Pluribus Unum” (Out of Many, One) for the new country. After … Read more
But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin. Doctrine and Covenants 49:20 This scripture is very specific about the current imbalance of wealth in America and the world. First it says “it is not given.” This means that God did not set … Read more
In his 1962 book, Capitalism and Freedom, Nobel Prize-winning (1976) economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006) expressed an optimistic vision of commercial exchange that emphasized the idea that both sides could win and that such exchanges were essentially civil. The possibility of co-ordination through voluntary co-operation, rests on the elementary—yet frequently denied—proposition that both parties to an … Read more
America today is characterized by outrageously high income inequality, a crumbling social safety net, financially struggling public schools, expensive or unavailable health care, the loss of employer retirement plans, and the privatizing of government services. What many don’t know is that this sad state of affairs is the result of a deliberate plan created 50 … Read more
Republicans like to play a little game with the word “democracy.” Whenever someone refers to the United States as a “democracy” they pipe up in a self-righteous know-it-all voice and say, “The United States is not a democracy, it’s a republic.” This word game, while technically historically accurate, is essentially meaningless. While the founding fathers … Read more
New research from the RAND Corporation shows what working Americans have suspected all along. From 1975 to 2020, the top 1% of Americans have stolen 50 trillion dollars from the aggregate annual incomes of the bottom 90% of Americans. Everyone in the United States today would be healthier, happier, and better educated if we had … Read more
Lord, who made the lion and the lamb,You decreed I should be what I am;Would it spoil some vast eternal plan,If I were a wealthy man? Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof” In our daily trials and troubles, it is not uncommon for us to think, like Tevye, “Oh, if only I were rich! I … Read more
No one is completely independent of others. We are dependent on others for all of our most basic needs: water, food, clothing, and shelter. While some may make their own clothing, they still need cloth, needles, and thread. Those who grow their own food rely on others to make their tools and the pipes that … Read more