People in America

There are a LOT of poor people in America.

I have been amazed at how many people live in trailers and mobile homes. We have camped in RV parks across a lot of this big country, and there are many gainfully employed people living out of their RV's. There are construction workers, law enforcement officers, cleaning staff, park employees, you name it, living in RV's; likely with no "benefits", no "golden parachute", no "mortgage interest deduction" (We saw a television advertisement from a realtors group advocating for keeping the current mortgage interest deduction - it's in their interest after all - and they're willing to spend millions of dollars trying to keep "the status quo" - which is also advantageous to those buying huge [2nd?] homes.)

I keep thinking back to 2008 when surveys said Americans were very concerned about the 50 million Americans without medical insurance (who would [have to] go to the Emergency Room when desperate for care.) It was the number one concern, in fact.
Then you had the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act.
And immediately wealthy, powerful Americans and multi-national 'corporate people' - and their political party - began fighting dirty to prevent it from moving forward (a perverse sort of "preventative medicine"?!) They, on behalf of obese insurance 'corporate people', dropped "the public option". How could those CEO's justify their $10+ million/year salaries if the govt could do it cheaper, and more straightforwardly? It would make them look bad.

Now we find out that "our" govt is spending Billions of dollars (on the NSA and huge, private, for-profit-only contractors) spying on us; tappin' our phone lines, readin' our email, savin' our attachments - in huge, expensive complexes in MD and UT. (And, in one of the ultimate ironies, Facebook, Google and Apple - those tax cheats [extremely creative tax-avoidance-scheme 'corporate people'] - are facilitating our govt spying on us while NOT paying their fair share of taxes to pay for those $200,000/year "Booz-y" contractor salaries. Freedom!)
Remember when there was the push for all cell phones to have a GPS chip in them? Well, "our" govt is storing where you make and receive your calls too.

But "we can't afford"
To make walking safer?
To make biking safer?
To make sure all Americans have some sort of basic public education and ("public option"?) medical care?

Well, clearly it is not a case of "can't afford". It is a case of "won't choose to" make it happen. A "Christian nation"?
Hardly.

"We" love war and the wealthy (well, "our" govt does anyway), just like so many imperial powers before us.

But the people you meet, the people on the street, are curious, funny, kind and generous. It is just too bad that "our" govt is not more like THOSE Americans; rather than like the greedy, venal, and vain "leaders" of our political and business "elite".

As well as Caterpillar, Chase and PNC banks, "this" is Peoria, Illinois
http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/1910091

I wish it was more profitable for "our" govt and "our" (American?) 'corporate people' to help the American people get a decent education, basic medical care, and some sort of economic opportunity (other than delivering 'recreational' drugs by bike/backpack in cities like Peoria, Illinois.)
Until "We, the people" are able to wrest control of "our" govt back from the unconscionable greed of multi-national 'corporate people' - and billionaires - the reality for tens of millions of Americans is going to continue to be a life of poverty, sickness and lack of hope or opportunity.
And that's too bad.
Unless you are already among the comfortable or super-wealthy, of course. In which case, maybe you should try harder to be content with all that you have - and stop trying to squash the smallest of attempts by those living in RV parks to "make the leap" up from the bottom of the social and economic ladder - and stop preventing "our" govt from attempting to help the American people.