In worldwide polls, America lacks in some extremely important areas. We are way behind in education, quality of life, care for our older Americans, and adequate healthcare for all. Above all three unnecessary facts demonstrate why America will never be a great nation.

The United States has four percent of the world’s population, and 25 percent of men and women who are incarcerated in state and federal prisons. America imprisons more individuals than any other developed nation in the world. Our country also lags way behind in prisoner rehabilitation. Analyzing the prison population, a disproportionate percentage of minorities dominate the number of that prison population.

The United States is also the most racist nation in all of the developed nations. Since November of 2016, America has experienced an increase in openly white supremacists, homophobes, Islamophobes, anti-Semites, and misogynists.

With a leader in the White House, hate groups are experiencing a resurgence not seen in 75 years.

Our greatest shame is a situation which could be repaired if we had a government which served all of the people and not only the wealthy. Presently there are more than 49 million men, women, and children living below the poverty line. These are Americans who cannot survive without some assistance from local, state, and federal governments. They are not asking for charity; they are in need of a helping hand. If our Republican controlled government cared about them, there are multiple ways to end poverty in just a few years. Instead, they are forgotten and even intentionally ignored.

The Republican tax plan is guaranteed to increase the number of good, caring, and hardworking Americans who will struggle in poverty. The bill includes cutting funds for necessary programs to prevent more low-income Americans from slipping under the poverty line. In addition, the horrific law will remove healthcare from 13 million low-income men and women; forcing them to forego life-saving medical care, or resulting in a requirement that they pay the bills themselves and most certainly join Americans living in poverty.

In addition, Republicans have refused to renew CHIP. Originally passed in 1996, with huge bipartisan approval, and renewed with large support until now, Republicans have not offered their approval in 2017. Orrin Hatch, the oldest Senator in the world, who co-wrote the bill, claims that we do not have the funds to renew it. The Children’s Health Insurance Program insures that nine-million low income children have healthcare. Their parent’s income is too high to qualify for Medicaid, but not sufficient to purchase health insurance from their employer. Hatch did find the money in Republican’s tax bill to give himself and other millionaires and billionaires a tax cut; that is the priority. The families of these children could find themselves sliding into poverty as well.

Thanks to Trump and his hypocritical party, in just a few years the number of Americans living in poverty could rise to as many as 71 million; over 22 percent of all Americans.

We’ve all heard that America is the richest nation in the world. This is true, but only a few experience the benefits of this fact. Thanks to a system which is rigged for the wealthy, the quality of life for most Americans is in decline. Meanwhile 585 billionaires and 10.7 million, millionaires, will receive additional tax cuts under Republican’s “tax reform.”

Ronald Reagan once used a slogan which helped him win an election. He asked the American people if “they were better off now than they were four years ago.” If Trump survives a full term, and his deplorable party remains in power, the answer will be: “Are you f**king kidding me?”

Please re-post; thank you.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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