Is it time America had a National “Come to Jesus” Conversation About the State of America or Face a National Divorce?

 

What’s wrong with us when a large segment of the population celebrate the murder of someone just because we disagree with them or they challenge our worldview? I wasn’t a follower of Charlie Kirk, though I did occasionally listen to him. I didn’t always agree with what he said, but I did respect his right to say it; to express his opinion in an open and civil manner, which was more than he typically got in return from those who proclaim themselves “woke” or “enlightened” (more like they’re sleepwalking and regurgitating what they’ve been told.

 And since when do we make excuses for coldblooded murder on  individuals minding their own business sitting on a bus reading a book or out walking their dog in the park? Is it simply easier to blame the victim now that they can no longer speak for themselves?

 To compound matters, there were four other sitting just feet away to refused to act while she was being murdered, and even after the killer walked away, boosting that he had just killed a “white girl”, they just left her to die alone on the floor of a bus.  I guess after they praised three separate assassination attempts on President Trump, we should have expected it.

 When Donald Trump was first elected President, his campaign mantra was to “make America great again”. Well, he’s back and it’s once again the mantra of his followers amid the vitriol of the Left. Ironically, the phrase was used in a radio commercial for Hillary Clinton during her run in the 2008 Democratic Primary, now we now hear from the Left asking, “what’s so great about America?” and “when was America ever great?”.

Under President Eisenhower’s two terms running from 1953 to 1961, 73% of Americans said they trusted their government. Going along partisan lines, the trust level of government was 79% among Republicans. Even Democrats were happy (yes—actual “happy” Democrats. They did once exist). 71% said they trusted in the government.

The overall trust level had jumped to 77% by the time Lyndon Johnson took office. But as the war raged on and the causality rates rose (as well as lies by the military and government became public), those numbers started to drop. Still, they would be regarded as high by today’s standards with 66% confidence level by Democrats and a 60% by Republicans.  By the time Johnson left office, and Richard Nixon took over, public trust had dropped but still remained strong at an overall 68%.

Following Nixon’s resignation and the advent of Gerald Ford’s “caretaker” administration, public trust was floundering at 36%. Among Republicans, just 38% had any confidence in the government. The Democrats weren’t far off with 36%. Jimmy Carter was elected as the “anti-insider” in 1976. The American People had had enough of Washington insiders and Carter took office with a new high---40%---before tumbling to 28% by the time he left office.

Despite Reagan’s perceived popularity over his eight years as president, trust in the government never did any better than 46%, a pale reflection of the Eisenhower days which Reagan often recalled in his speeches. By 1994, during the Clinton Administration, the public’s trust in the government had hit a record low of 19% before rising to 49% by the end of his second term.

President Reagan was well known for his often quips. One involved his switching parties. When asked why he left the Democratic Party and joined the Republican, he famously said “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party left me”. I guess this was the time when the American People could say the same thing about both parties now and the government in general. Government had left the American People.

Sadly, it took a national tragedy like 9/11 to rekindle America’s faith in their government, and it came shortly after George W. Bush (aka “Dubya”) took office. Poll numbers vary slightly, but the public’s trust in government ranged between 55% and as much as 60% according to some polls. Ever then, confidence in the government has been on a downward trajectory ever since. As some have said, “we're in a handbag to Hell on roller skates and no one is driving”

The best Trump did in his first term was 27%. Under President Biden, levels of trust in the government again repeated lows of 19%. Even among Democrats, the trust factor never did better than 35%.  For Republicans, it remained at levels one could only call abyssal---11%.

Today, Americans barely tolerate each other. We tend to live in our collective bubbles and regurgitate what we see and hear without bothering to question or investigate. They demand to be heard but refuse to listen. They celebrate the murders of others and excuse their killers. We’ve become two nations.

Even when we break down trust in government by race, we don’t see much of change. Using the Eisenhower/Kennedy/Johnson administrations as a starting point, Blacks and whites intersected in October 1964 (the early LBJ Administration) with a 77% each saying they trust the government.

Staring in 1968, that trust among Blacks has plummeted. The next time it peaked was in 1993, corresponding with Bill Clinton’s inauguration, when it hit 43%. Even under Obama, it didn’t do any better than 39% in February 2013. Biden got close in April 2021 with 37%.  Trust levels hit rock bottom in March 2019  during Trump’s administration when they dropped to 9% thanks largely to relentless negative news about Trump and his administration by the legacy media. It was so bad that 67% of Blacks had been convinced that the political system exists to hold them back. 

Among Whites, their highest trust level in government following October 1964 wasn’t until October 2001 under George W. Bush when it reached 61% few weeks following the 9/11 attacked (was this actually “trust” or just patriotism?).   For Whites, their low point came in October 2011 under Obama when it dropped to 8%.

According to Pew Polling, Hispanics weren’t tracked until December 1990 when  George “Dubya” Bush was the president. Their initial starting point was 39%. They quickly reached their highest level of trust of 57% in December 1998, which was late into Clinton’s tenure as president before again dropping off. Their next high point came in January 2013 when it reached 44% under President Obama. Interesting, their lowest level of trust in the government came at the end of the Biden’s presidency when it hit 23%.

Lastly, Asians. Apparently, they first appeared in polling data in August 2020 during Trump’s first term when they expressed a trust level of only 27%. They peaked in May 2022 at 37% under Biden, only to bottomed out a month later at 23%. Native Americans and Independents, the nation’s largest political bloc, were excluded in the polling data.

Now, President Trump promises to make us “great” once more. That would mean taking us politically, socially, and economically back to the post-World War II years of Harry Truman and Ike. The American economy was booming and we had taken center stage as empires of old, England, France, and Germany faded from the limelight. We had become a “superpower”.

As for President Trump, he has been implementing many of campaign promises (a rarity in itself). He has started deporting illegal residents by the thousands (many of whom had previously just laughed at the usual empty rhetoric about deportation). He has started purging the government of useless and redundant bureaucrats, saving taxpayers millions in the process, and having an eye towards shutting down unneeded agencies. President Trump is, as promised, “draining the swamp”.

Of course, in his zeal, he needs to be careful of not overreaching into areas vital to ordinary citizens such as Social Security, unemployment, or WIC, while ensuring that those who actually need government services receive it. Often reformist zeal can turn into blind zealotry. He has imposed tariffs, which has been largely unpopular with the public and small businesses since it means higher prices which big business seems rather pleased. He has also promised lower prices, especially for staples like milk and eggs, which has yet to happen. 

For too long, the bulk of American citizens have seen government as inept and corrupt. Over 65% of Americans are unhappy with our position in the world. 72% of America agree with the statement that "America was once a good example of democracy, but no longer".  Among the OECD nations, the United States ranks near the bottom when it comes to trust in government at 31  %. Only Columbia and Chile rank lower.  The country with the highest level of trust is Switzerland with 83.78%. 

 Given the appalling insensitive reaction of many on the Left (including much of the legacy media) to the death of Charlie Kirk, Iryna Zarutska, and others, the question  which now faces our nation is “now what?” We’ve become two nations with differing values occupying the same space. Our only commonality is the Status Quo which serves itself by keeping us divided and at each other’s throats. Can we root out the "Deep State" and restore our Republic or is it too late? Can we learn to talk “to” and not “at” one another again; to be respectful whether we agree or not with each other?

Personally, I have my doubts. America has become too deeply and widely divided and too willing to act as if this is acceptable.  It’s not. That means either deep reform, if not a complete overhaul of the government and breaking up the powerful corporate-government state, and returning to a constitutionally based Republic as intended by our Founders (which incidentally means doing away with political parties and having “citizen legislators”) or finding a way to peacefully create a two state nation, perhaps along the lines of a loosely based federation (Yugoslavia or the old Austro-Hungarian Empire comes to mind).  

We’ve watched the government slide from a Republic responsible to its citizens under Eisenhower to a surveillance state within a neo-fascist corporatocracy which serves Wall Street. Government, both elected and appointed, no longer represent the American People. Instead, it serves corporate interests and those with deep pockets.  Much of what Congress, the Judicial system, past presidents, and the legacy media bears that out. We can’t even be sure our vote still counts.

The only alternative is to terrible to seriously contemplate. Those who seek balance---“centrists” or “moderates”---have been largely purged from both of the corporate owned parties. As a result, they now make up the nation's majority of voters. They’re called Independents and unlike the two corporate parties, everyone is welcome if you believe in tolerance and having an open mind (we’re funny that way).  

But regardless of your political leanings, there’s one thing which is crystal clear and that is that our present dystopian state of the nation cannot hold.  Something has to give. It’s time that we, as a nation, have a frank and honest national conversation, a so-called “come to Jesus” moment to address some ugly truths about ourselves and find a way to peacefully coexist or simply agree to disagree and go our separate ways. 

Empires come and go. Republics tend to last about 250 years before they implode. We’ve reached that 250 year mark. We are, as our Founding Fathers said, a “grand experiment”. Nothing about our future was pre-ordained. I suspect we’ve already exceeded their expectations. One thing is for sure though. If we are to “make America great again”, we cannot continue to limp along as we have been doing and still pretend we’re a “Republic”. We’re not. Extremism and intolerance has no place among a free people. So, what do you want to do America?

 Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you find our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free-thinking individuals. We ask, however, that you "like" us on whatever platform you found us on in order to keep our articles available for free to others. Lastly, in order to keep costs down, we depend on passive marketing, and therefore, depend on our readers to please forward our posts along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

 

Pew Research: Public Trust in Government: 1958 - 2024

 

72% of American say the US used to be a good example ofdemocracy but isn’t anymore

 

WEF: Trust in Government by Country 2024

 

Make America Great Again

 

The American Experiment

 

Gallup: A Third of Americans Satisfied With Global Position

 

Black Americans mistrust the US political system

 

 The State of Public Trust in Government 2025

Americans Deepening Mistrust of Institutions

Welcome to the New Reality: The Death of the Republic and Rise of the Corporatocracy

 

As most everyone knows, aside from their role as legislators, one of the key functions of Congress is to act as the keeper of the nation’s wallet. They are the ones who approve and allocate our tax dollars. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “It is the duty of the President to propose, and it is the privilege of Congress to dispose”, and indeed it is.

What happens when the government has a debit crisis or to use an accounting expression, when our “outflow exceeds our inflow”? In short, the government is spending more than we bringing in? No business can do that for long and stay afloat, and no ordinary household can survive for long before the bill collectors come calling. Government has no mandate like the rest of us to follow a strict budget. So what then? 

In the case of the United States Government, there is no one coming to bail us out.  The government's credit is based on nothing more than its "good faith", which is short for "trust us". Those who own our debt are mostly other countries like Japan ($1.1 trillion), the UK ($690 billion), and China ($749 billion); they're essentially stuck. They have no hard collateral like the Capital Building or Mt. Rushmore to foreclose on and sell off on the steps of the ICC to the highest bidder. The most they can do is ride out the financial storm or throw more money at the problem and hope “we” (that is, the President and Congress) can somehow work it out.

The usual answer is raising interest rates, which increases the cost of borrowing money from the Federal Reserve. This, in turn, typically means a hike in wholesale prices which means, as nearly always, ultimately gets passed on to you and me. As a result, we are the ones who ultimately take the hit for their bad policy decisions and mismanagement.    

Sometimes, war is used to artificially stimulate the economy and reduce high unemployment numbers. But as for Congress itself, there are no real consequences and yet, aren't they ultimately responsible for the problem itself? 

Well, yes, but Congress goes happily on their merry way without having to take responsibility for their actions (or in some cases, inactions).  For decades now, their approval rating has been in preverbal toilet, typically ranging from a low of 9% in 2019 to a high of 29% as of February 2025, but do you think they care? Nope. Not really. Have you ever wondered why that is?

According to Open Secrets, in 2024 Democrats received $1,163,550,563. Of that, $1,187,730 came from political action committees (“PACs”). $1,802,512,049 was from individuals. Republicans raised $637,855,365. PACs were responsible for $1,018,830 while individual contributions made up $581,463,551. The majority of the money came from corporate donors and very wealthy families, and we can thank the 2010 Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court for that.

Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX and current satrap of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), for instance gave $291,482,587, all to the GOP.  Timothy Mellon gave $197,047,200 with the overwhelming majority going to the Republican Party as well. Miriam O. Adelson (owner of the Sands in Las Vegas and the Adelson Drug Clinic) donated $148,304,900, also to the Republicans.

Michael Bloomberg, the former Mayor of New York, gave $60,839,734 to the Democrats and a token $1 million to the Republicans. Dustin Moskovitz, owner of Asana, Inc, dropped $50,671,800 to the Democrats as well.

Steve Swartzman of Blackrock Group contributed $40,178,539 to the GOP while Bob Bigelow, owner of Bigelow Industries, gave them $34,990,500. Reid Garrett Hoffman, owner of LinkedIn, gave the Democrats $28,804,480 and a polite $400,000 to the Republicans.

When it came to corporate donors, SpaceX was again on top with $287,930,952 going to the Republicans. Another $767,131 went to the Democrats. The Fund for Policy Reform contributed $60,000,000 to the Democrats. Ripple, a software developer, gave $15,685,583 to the Democrats as well and $2,970,303 to the GOP.  Building America’s Future donated $33,470,000 to the Republican Party.

These are just a very small sample of the big dollars that went into the elections of 2024. In addition, most of these groups also donated money to smaller outside organizations. For instance, Citadel, Inc., a preeminent multinational hedge fund, amassed $108,669,316 in contributions (making it the fourth largest corporate donor) spent the bulk of its money on Republican groups which included Keystone Renewal PAC, American Patriots PAC, Fix Washington PAC, and the Senate Leadership Fund just to name a few.

Greylock Partners, one of the nation’s oldest venture capital firms, donated $35,900,577, ranking it the 26^th largest corporate donor, gave all of it to exclusively Democratic related groups that included WelcomePAC, American Bridge 21^st Century, Granite Committee, and Future Forward USA to name just four.

There were quite a number of PACs (some of which were self-funded by members such as the NRA and AARP) which made heavy political contributions as well. Many choose to hedge their bets by contributing to both parties. However, the lion’s share of their money went to incumbents irrespective of party.  The reason is because, thanks to partisan gerrymandering and the absence of term limits, 97% of Congressional incumbents were reelected in 2024. It was the same at the state level. 94% of state executives were reelected as were 92% of state judicial incumbents. Those are better percentage than even the old Soviet Politburo had!

Another reasons Congress couldn’t privately care less about voter opinion is that the majority are millionaires. They don’t need the job. This is basically about acquiring power and making connections, and if you can pick up a few extra million along the way, well so be it. Let’s take a look.

Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida has a net worth of around $549.91 million dollars. Everyone’s favorite Democrat, Former Speaker of House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California is believed to have a net worth of $267.6 million dollars!  In 2023, she listed the value of her household assets at $92 million. Not bad for having a combined salary of $250,000 a year ($174,000 base plus leadership and committee bonuses).

As of 2024, there were 13,043 lobbyists operating in Washington, mostly along “K” Street, which employs roughly 100,000 researchers, analysist, public relations and media specialists, data entry, and others needed to support the influence industry while many of the lobbyists themselves are former legislators or senior staffers.

Despite that number, much of the business is handled by just 300 firms. Most represent corporations, trade associations, and unions.  In that same year---2024---they invested just over $4.43 billion dollars to get their message (and candidate) across the finish line.

 Unfortunately, those that represent ordinary working class Americans are few and far between. Corporate donors, on average, give close to ten dollars for every two unions contribute and, in an election related crunch, they’re quite capable of  ponying up a lot more, further dwarfing anything unions can come up with. 

Lastly, and I want to be clear about this, you can bet your house, your children, or whatever else you hold dear, that money of this magnitude isn't given to be "patriotic" or be seen as being a "responsible citizen". It's an investment like any other. They intend on getting their money's worth and then some from this "investment" and when it (or they) cease to be useful, they'll quickly move on and find another that is.  I suppose you could think of primaries as political search engine of sorts; a way to find the next compatible cog for the machine.  

Another reason voters get a yawn, as noted above, is due to partisan gerrymandering. President John Adams originally said that redistricting should provide an “exact portrait, a miniature” of the nation as whole.  He would be deeply disappointed to see what redistricting has become. Every ten years states are supposed to redraw their legislative and Congressional districts following the results of the census so that voter demographics are properly represented, but that’s not what has happened.

Nowadays, redistricting tends to happen along the lines of majority political party in power, meaning that if the Republicans for instance control the State Legislator, the districts will be redrawn accordingly. Same if the Democrats are in charge while the nation’s largest political demographic, Independents, as well as third parties, are ignored. Thus, you end up with districts which are intended to virtually ensure the dominant political party retains control of those districts. Hardly fair or balanced.

Attempts to reform redistricting has typically run into stone wall erected by both parties in order to protect “their” political turf. A case in point was the 2019 Supreme Court’s Rucho v. Common Cause decision is a great example. Although the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibit racial discrimination, the court decided that while partisan gerrymandering was “incompatible with democratic principles”, it could not be addressed at the federal level! That meant returning to the state which was responsible for the situation to begin with and leaving the matter unresolved.

A few states have taken the bold step of taking the power to gerrymander out of the hands of the state legislators and assigned them to non-partisan institutions such as universities and colleges on a rotating basis or independent commissions, but don’t expect to see this spread nationwide until voters stage a ballot box revolt and start automatically voting against the sitting party in that district.   

The absence of term limits is another main reason members of Congress (and the federal judiciary) doesn’t particularly care about voter opinions. Image having a job where no matter how crappy of a job you do, you won’t get fired. Well, that’s Congress and judiciary.  How’s that possible?

Well, thanks to a political system which has been corrupted to the point where vested interests financially underwrite the campaigns of those who are to regulate them, where they fill party coffers, write the legislation which affects them, where districts are redrawn to give one group a perpetual partisan majority over another, make decisions contrary to the interests of the people they’re supposed to represent, and then ensures that they can serve almost indefinitely.  

It bears mentioning that the majority of Americans want to see term limits. According to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 82% of Americans want term limits. Of this, 89% were Republicans,  83% were Independents, and 76% were Democrats. Obviously, there’s no ambiguity here.  

Americans want an end to a corrupt system which caps the President to two four year terms while giving Congress unlimited terms and the federal judiciary life appointments.  Even at the individual state level, voters want to see term limits. In Kentucky it’s 84%. In Maine it’s 75%. 84% in Montana. 75% in Utah. 80% in Georgia. 77% in Florida, and 78% in Alaska.

This is the political system we now have. It isn’t the Republic envisioned by the Founders of this country of a limited government or one run by and for “citizen legislators”.  This is the vision of  our new Founders, the ultra-wealthy Oligarchs, and the creation of a neo-fascist corporatocracy, leaving us with a “managed limited democracy” and a surveillance state. President Trump may try to restore the Republic, or what’s lefts of it, but the corruption has become institutionalized,  and both sides benefit from it. The only losers are those for whom the nation was created----its citizens. Welcome to our new reality.

 

Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you find our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free-thinking individuals. We ask, however, that you "like" us on whatever platform you found us on in order to keep our articles available for free to others. Lastly, in order to keep costs down, we depend on passive marketing, and therefore, depend on our readers to please forward our posts along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

 

Lobbying in the United States

Citizens United v. FEC

Lobbying Data Summary

Rucho v. Common Cause 18-422 588 U.S. 684 (2019)

Election results,2024: Incumbents wins by state

Tomboulides Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee

Term Limits Polling Results

 

 

 

"The Fifth of November" As Told By Paul Hosse: A 2024 Election Special

"Remember remember this Fifth of November

 January's treasonous plot.

I see no reason why the treasonous plot should ever be forgot

Trump, Trump 'twas his intent

to overthrow the government"

Three score militia's did go

the electoral college to overthrow  

By Hillary's providence he was catch'd

behind Nancy's darken lectern an election snatch'd"  

So goes my brief rewrite of John Milton's famous poem about Guy Fawkes and 12 other's failed 1605 "Gunpowder Plot" to blow up England's Protestant king, James VI of Scotland and Parliament as today's media and political status quo would attempt to reframe for us Donald Trump in the role of the "villainous" Guy Fawkes. 

It's almost time for all the posturing and spin to come to an end and for us to go to the polls (bearing in mind that it's the Electoral College, not us, the voters, who actually decides on who becomes the next president). The news media, so-called "celebrities" and "personalities" will be out in force telling you to vote the way they (allegedly) did. Even TV talk shows and radio programs, print advertising, and commercials will have their overt and covert partisan innuendos (often masked in humor, sex appeal, or social correctness) to more subtly manipulate your vote.   

 Newspapers in particular will make their "endorsements", which, in effect, is aimed at convincing you to support their agenda---not yours. They want you to put the issues important to you, your family, your friends, and your neighborhood aside. They, through their endorsements, want you to support the issues and values which are important to them and their crony like friends.

We at Another Opinion don't make "endorsements". We give you---our readers---the unvarnished facts as we find them and urge you to make up your own mind (we even provide the links to that information so you can verify them for yourself).

We hope you will do your own research based on the issues important in your world and vote accordingly irrespective of partisanship because you can bet that neither of the two corporate owned parties care one iota about what's important to you.  

So, on this Fifth of November, we hope you will have not forgot to get out and vote. America's future  depends on it.

Thank you for reading Another Opinion! We hope you enjoyed this article and will pass it along. Please don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly, please "like" us on whatever platform you use to read anotheropinionblog.com. It helps beat the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Please find below the links we consulted in researching this article.

 

Remember remember the 5th of November by John Melton

Gunpowder Plot

Gunpowder Plot in popular culture

 

America's Loss of Faith in Itself: Failing Confidence in Our Institutions

We Americans are facing a severe crisis. Some might rightly call it a crisis of trust. We no longer trust our social institutions, and that's a serious problem. Most governments likes ours exist solely by the consent of those governed.  Well, what happens when citizens withdraw that consent? That's not  meant to be rhetorical. That's where we are now as a country.

In 2022, Gallup published a poll about Americans confidence in our top 16 most important social pillars. Of those, 11 were total failures. Of the five which were positive, only the U.S. military and small business had a solid approval rating. The other three were only marginally positive.

Gallup's most recent approval poll from July 2024 shows that our trust in government and our institutions have gotten worse. A 2023 Ipsos report indicated that on average only 30% of Americans said we could trust each other.  So, given this is a presidential election years, lets' start with confidence in the presidency.

When questioned about their confidence in the role of the presidency, 26% of respondents said they had " a lot" or "great deal" of trust in the presidency. Compared that to 69% who said they had little or no confidence. 4% said they had absolutely no trust in the presidency at all. In 2013, while Donald Trump was President, 36% said they had a great deal or a lot of trust in the office. The Nixon Presidency went from a high of 71% to 24% post Watergate. Ronald Reagan left office with a approval rating of 63%. Bill Clinton's was 66% despite his impeachment.

Trust in Congress has historically remained low, yet somehow it magically manages to pull off a 95% reelection percentage. For the period of June 3 - 23, 2024, Congress had a 9% approval rating according to the Gallup poll. 4% said they trusted Congress a "great deal" while 5% said "a lot". But, 88% said they had no or little trust in Congress.

Just these two sets of numbers alone would have most politicians in other nations booking flights out to non-extradition nations, and yet here in America, many are campaigning for reelection based on the marvelous job they've been doing. How can we explain this?

So, if Congress and the President can't get the job done, who can? How about the third branch of government, the legal system? If we look at the justice system, 76% of respondents would find it guilty of not serving the people. 3% rejected it completely. A mere 11% was happy with how things are going.

The Supreme Court was once held in high esteem and could always be expected to be one of the few institutions with a positive approval rating. But ever since its 2010 "Citizens United" debacle, faith in the high court has taken a nose dive. Just 30% approved of the job being done by the Chief Justices. 66% would dismiss the lot of them. 3% had nothing but contempt for the nation's top court. Is it any wonder that America is labeled a "flawed democracy" and on the brink of being labeled a "failed democracy"?

What about the news media? Print media held themselves out to be the sole arbiters of truth and morality for over a hundred years.  Today, 96+% of all media is owned by just five corporations. Can we still trust them to provide fair and balanced reporting? Beginning with television, 12% say they have a "great amount" or "a lot" of confidence in network news while 83% lack any confidence in what we're told. Another 5% would cancel the lot of them. 

The overwhelming majority of Americans don't believe we're getting "non-partisan" or "fair and balance" reporting from any national networks. As for print media, it had a 18% approval rating. Americans, it seems, have come to expect print media (newspapers, magazines, etc) to publish biased or slanted stories. 79% of respondents agreed.

The survey didn't mention social media sites such as "X" (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Gab, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.  However, another survey showed 25% trusted social media. 42% had confidence in cable news, and 38% in podcasters. Who did they trust most? 56% said their local broadcasters.

A Pew poll reported that among those under 30 (Gen X) had a 50% approval rating of social media sites when it came to getting their news. It was 36% for those ages 30 to 49 (Millennials) and from 50 to 64, the approval rating was 25% and 20% for everyone 65 and older.

Next are those who protect us---law enforcement and the military. America has boasted having the best equipped, best trained, best fed, and best prepared military in the world. Ever since 1945, we have taken on the (mostly self appointed) role of the world's policeman. However, following a exhaustive 20 year war in Afghanistan, which ended where it started, the Pentagon announced that we are currently not militarily capable of fighting a sustained multi-front conflict.

Our planes, ships, tanks, and equipment are in desperate need of total overhaul or replacement. We've depleted our stockpile of spare parts  and other supplies, and all the while, men and women are getting out at a higher rate than average. But, despite our military loss, how did the poll indicate Americans felt about our men and women in uniform? Despite a 2.7% attrition rate, the 2024 Gallup poll showed that most American's still had the back of our military personnel. 61% had a positive opinion of our Armed Forces compared to 39% who didn't.

As an aside, a  Rand study reported that 54.4% of parents would discourage their children from joining the military as enlisted (non-commission). On the other hand, 75% of parent would encourage them to join, but only as an officer. Having been there, done that, I have to agree. Officer is the only way to go. They have a better choice of duty stations, pay, housing, retirement, and they are  treated much better.

When it came to law enforcement, 51% said they trusted the local and state men and women in blue. However,  a sizeable number---48%---puts little or no trust in them. 58% reported little or no trust in the FBI. 43% felt the same way about the Secret Service (the poll was taken prior to the attempted Trump assassination, so it's likely those numbers would be lower). Just 46% had any confidence in the CIA. 42% felt the same way about the Department of Homeland Security. 33% trusted the Justice Department.

Our currency is backed by the "full faith and credit" of the U.S. Government, which, if so, should give every American serious reason to pause. We have the biggest debt of any nation. Congress continually raises the "debt ceiling" so we can keep the government going. We routinely borrow billions from foreign countries (including China) just to keep our nation afloat and make the interest payments on that debt. Imagine having to borrow money just to pay the interest on your mortgage or credit card debt! How long do you think you could keep that up before ending up in bankruptcy court?

So, let's look at the Federal Reserve System, which  manages and regulates the nation's money supply. With a approval rating is mere 36%, most disapprove of how its job performance. 62% of Americans lack faith in the FRS. Next comes the banks. It should come as no surprised that 72% expressed little or no confidence in them.

Big Business, often portrayed as ruthless and immoral (not to mention puppet master of Washington) is deeply disliked by most Americans---83% to be exact. The Big Tech companies like Microsoft or Apple, have an approval rating of only 27%. Small businesses (the "Mom and Pop's" ) are liked by 64% of consumers (which is why Big Business spends billion to portray themselves as being community and people oriented). After peaking in the 1950's, only 27% now approve of unions.

Another key institution is healthcare. Globally, the U.S. healthcare system is last among the top seven industrial nations. It ranks highest among the top industrial nations and 54th overall in infant mortality rates, 60th in life expectancy (behind Estonia and Saudi Arabia), highest treatment cost, fewest hospital beds, and 22nd in quality of life.  Our healthcare system's emphasis is on repeat  treatment instead of prevention.  Could the problem be putting profits over patients?

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a disapproval rating of 58% following their (mis)handling of COVID-19. Given the above, it shouldn't surprise you to learn that our healthcare system as a whole has an approval rating of just 36% while 64% disapprove.

Our currency boldly proclaims  "In God We Trust". So what about religious institutions? Surely we can safely put our trust in religion...can't we? Well, apparently not so much. According to the Gallup Poll, organized religion has a approval rating of only 32%. 67% of respondents placed little or no faith in doctrinaire religion. In the 1950's, according to a University of Southern California report, 57% of households belonged to some religious institution. By 1960 it rose to a high of  63.3%. Why?

America had come through two wars---WWII and Korea. The economy was booming. Suburbs were springing up everywhere. nearly everyone had a car and a nationwide highway system to drive them on.  We had a functional government where both sides tried to meet in the middle. There was a new sense of optimism to go along with our patriotism. Everybody liked Ike. But somewhere in the late 1970's and early 80's, it all began to fade.

Rev. Jerry Falwell's "Moral Majority" (which was neither) was became viewed as a religious form of McCarthyism; a stick to measure others by. It demanded conformity as it inserted its values into government and society. Televangelists ("pay to pray" preachers) like Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Ted Haggard, Oral Roberts, and Falwell, watched by 85% of religious households at one point, found themselves immersed in scandal amid a lifestyle of obscene wealth.

There were widespread reports of child molestation by Catholic priests (and the Church's efforts to intimidate victims and hide the perpetrators), pedophilia, hiring prostitutes, sex trafficking, and tax evasion as well as their positions on abortion, birth control, LGBQT acceptance, single mothers, support of illegal immigration, musical lyrics, and more. America changed as organized religions failed to adapt.  

A 2020 Pew Poll revealed that while church attendance was down considerably, 64% of Americans still self-identified as Christian. Given the current trend, its predicted that by 2030, that number will be 46% or less and 35% by 2070. Americans are leaving mainstream (mostly fundamentalist and conservative churches) at a rate of 10% to 15% annually. Many are becoming agnostic, atheist, or converting to Buddhism, Humanism, Hinduism, or to spirituality (Wicca, pantheism, paganism, etc). What's the fastest growing  religion in America? Islam. Non-doctrinaire? Secularism (aka "none").

Lastly, education. Our educational system is ranked 12th among 81 industrialized nations. We scored in the bottom half globally in math (the top five were all Asian countries). In science, we ranked 16th out of 81 countries,, placing us in the second tier. The top five? All Asian again.

The 2024 Gallup Poll showed our public school system had a approval rating of 29%. However, 70% of those surveyed said our public schools were failing. We had kids graduating high school who can't read at a 12 grade level (many have an 8th grade reading or comprehension ability). In math and the sciences, it's just as bad. History, English (including proper grammar) face a similar problem. In literacy, we rank 36th globally (note that poverty levels are closely tied to literacy rates).  

Higher education doesn't fair much better. To many colleges depend on quotas to fill their enrollment criteria rather than the best performing academically.  Many incoming Freshmen aren't prepared for college. As a result, they are usually required to take remedial classes. just to get started.

Bear in mind too that college isn't for everyone and not every job should requires a four year degree. The best alternative? Trade school. Tuition is much less. There is a strong job demand (many have jobs before graduating), it pays well, and the trades offer a wide range of opportunities.

A lot of students go for whatever major is easiest or trendy, This usually translates into degrees with little demand (such as gender or race based studies, art history, Humanities, Mass Communication, Anthropology, or Sports Health or Administration). These are the students who typically end up with the most debt and least likely able to find a job or pay off their academic debt.

So, there you have it. We have lost confidence in overwhelming majority of our foundational institutions; a trend which has been accelerating for years.  For some of these institutions, it may be possible to earn back some of that trust over time, but for others, perhaps the majority, that confidence appears gone forever, and with them an allegiance to our nation's future.

 

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U.S. Confidence in Institutions Mostly Flat, but Police Up

Government Agency Ratings Remain Largely Negative

User trust in social platforms is falling, according to ournew study.

U.S. adults under 30 now trust information social mediaalmost as much as from national news outlets

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Pew: Modeling the Future of Religion in America

A Majority of Americans Trust Local Broadcasters Above OtherMedia for Election News

U.S. Education Rankings Compared to Other Countries

U.S. Ranks Last Among Seven Countries on Health System PerformanceMeasures

30% of adults say most people can be trusted

 

Fried Chicken, Illegal Immigration, and Taxes

 

I'm just a "Southern boy" at heart. I grew up in the South. I've spent lots of time on working on farms, taking care of cows, pigs, chickens, picking corn and beans, hanging tobacco, stacking hay in the loft, mucking stalls, and everything else that goes with it. I've also lived in big and small cities like San Francisco California, Norfolk Virginia, Memphis Tennessee, Jacksonville Florida, Bowling Green and Glasgow Kentucky, among others.  

I've also lived off and on in the suburbs of a moderate size, sleepy and slightly backwards mid-western town which dons its "Southern" persona for two weeks out of the year, culminating in a overhyped and overpriced two minute horse race, after which it goes snuggly back to sleep and dreams of its former days of prominence.   

As someone with particularly deep Southern roots, I especially enjoy my fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, (no sausage in the gravy please. That's "Yankee" style gravy corporate restaurant chains try to pass off as "Southern" or "country". It ain't, plus they can charge you more). I also love fried apples with cinnamon, and fried white corn. You'll find that in the South almost everything we eat is fried.

That tradition was born of the Scots, Irish, Welsh, and Northern English who settled primarily in the southeastern portion of the country along the Appalachian Mountains, from Kentucky in the north down to Florida and over to Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri which created a culture and tradition uniquely their own, including what we ate. Nevertheless, for some reason many of us don't seem to have our typical "Southern" dinners as often anymore because of the price of everything.

Chicken used to be considered "the poor man's steak" because, next to fish, it was one of the cheapest and healthiest meats one could eat. However, nowadays, chicken is the premier meat as more and more people have turned away for overpriced beef, which is seen by many so-called "health experts" as being unhealthy thanks to pesticides, growth hormones, various drugs and antibodies, and dyes.   

Today, there's hardly any restaurant which doesn't sell chicken. In some cities they even put chicken on their pizzas! Did you know that approximately 70 billion chickens are consumed worldwide every year? That's comes to around 202 million per day or 140,000 chickens per minute. Americans alone bake or fry approximately 9.5 billion chickens every year.  

In 1957, the average weight of a chicken was two pounds. By 1978, with chicken on the verge of overtaking beef and pork, the average chicken weighed in at 4 pounds. As of 2005, the ordinary chicken was a hefty 9 1/4 pounds. Today, it tops out close to 12 pounds! Much of that is enhanced feed. Some of it isn't. It's chemicals like growth hormone.

To turn this around, as of 2020, most people ate roughly 82 pounds of red meat annually. That same year, we ate 127.2 pounds of chicken (to put that in perspective, globally speaking, the average person only consumed 35.7 pounds of chicken, meaning that we're eating about 40% times the recommended amount.

Did you know that Iowa and Ohio are the two largest consumers of chicken? They annually eat 54,957 and 52,690 of those little cluckers respectively. The highest ranking Southern states are Georgia in 5th place and Texas in 6th. Georgians ate 31,641 chickens while the Lone Star State munched down on 30,527.

In 2014, when Trump was elected to office, the average price for a one pound  boneless chicken breast was $3.47 (the previous low, in 2011, when the same one pound boneless breast cost $3.10). By the end of Trump's term, the price for that same one pound chicken breast was $2.94.

In February 2020, just after the start of the Biden Administration, that one pound boneless chicken breast would cost consumers $3.00. Halfway through Biden's term, in September 2022, you'd be shelling out $4.75. As of July 2024, the average cost for that boneless chicken breast was $3.95.

When we look at the price of sugar, it isn't any better.  A pound of white processed sugar (which is essential for the Southern tradition of "sweet tea") was $0.63 in January 2014. In June 2017, it was slightly to $0.66. By April 2020 it had dropped to $0.64 per pound.  

However, starting around May 2020, sugar prices began to climb from $0.65 in May to $0.69 in November 2021. September 2022 saw sugar prices  reach a new plateau high of $0.84. By September 2024, sugar had become "sweet gold" when it hit  $0.97 per pound. As of July 2024, the price of sugar was selling for a whopping $1.00 a pound!

Ground roasted coffee, that staple of civilization, has seen similar hikes in price. Selling at $2.75 a pound in July 2004, it skyrocketed to $5.01 in March 2014. It drop by December 2019 to $4.05. As of April 2021, a average one pound can of "Joe" would run you $4.75.  If that didn't wake you up, the prices by December 2022 sure would when they hit a record $6.47 a pound. By mid-year 2024, that same pound of coffee was  down slightly to $6.31. What about just stopping by "Mickey D's" instead?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, the costs of fresh biscuits, muffins, and rolls rose 134.49% in 2024 over 1997 prices. McDonald's "McDouble" sandwich went from $1.19 in 2014 to a fat $3.19.  A medium order of French fries increased from $1.59 to $3.79 over the same time frame. Overall, McDonald's price have doubled over the last ten years.

Overall, the cost of eating out rose 60%, more than double the inflation rates from 2014 to 2024. McDonald's prices rose the most---100%--- over the period from 2014 to 2024 with Subway's rising the least at 39%. Taco Bell's prices increased 81% while Arby's, Wendy's, Burger King, and Chic-fil-A all rose by 55%.

The fact of the matter is that the price of nearly everything has gone up. The inflation rate of food prices was 3.3% in 2014. In 2015 is had dropped to 0.8 %. The following year it was -0.5% (when was the last time you saw food prices actually go down?). By the end of 2019, the inflation rate of food  had risen slightly, to 1.8%.

With the incoming Biden Administration, the food inflation rate jumped to 3.9% in 2020. The very next year, in 2021, the inflation rate for food had risen to 6.3%, but that turned out to be nothing compared to 2022. That year consumers were robbed when the food inflation rate hit a staggering 10.4%!  

The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics reported that August 2022 saw the highest rate of food inflation---11.4%---since May 1979. Things finally cooled off when, by 2023, it had dropped off to 2.7% and then, finally, to 2.2 thus far in 2024 (just in time for an election. Imagine that).

 So, why do economists tell us that we're teetering on a recession but Vice President Kamala Harris says  everything is fine? Why does Ms. Harris have this long list of things she wants to start working on starting "day one" when she and "Slow Joe" have had four years to produce numbers like these? How can Americans afford another four years of prices like these?

When we look at wages, Statista reported in their June 13, 2024 that from April 2021 through April 2023, the average real hourly earnings declined over for 25 consecutive months. Nominal wages grew by 22.7% since 2020. However, consumer prices rose by 21%, meaning that workers just barely beat inflation by 1.7%. So, if you feel you're barely able to tread water, you're not imagining it.

Ms. Harris talks about curtailing illegal immigration to one group of potential voters and turns around and says she's going to create a easier path to citizenship to others, especially for those seeking "asylum". From 2007 through 2019, illegal immigrant numbers in the United States had been decreasing.

However, 2022 marked the beginning of a reversal of that trend when the number of illegal immigrants reached 11 million (which is still below the peak of 12.2 million in 2007).  Still, illegal immigration makes up 3% of our total population and nearly a quarter of the foreign born population in the U.S..

By the way, does Harris realize that most of these illegal migrants aren't coming here for citizenship? Statistics show they're actually coming here for a job. Some may claim it's "amnesty" they're here for but that isn't necessarily so. It's to get a regular paycheck. However, by applying for "asylum", it puts them into a different category and delays their review process thereby allowing them additional time to find a way to stay.  

These individuals  can't openly admit  say they're "job immigrates". The reason is because "job immigration"  is not recognized by the U.S. State Department, the UN, or even Amnesty International as a legitimate reason to seek entry into a country. Besides, international law requires anyone seeking amnesty to apply to the next closest safe country, no apply to the United States first!

Another key factor often mentioned by Kamala Harris is education and debt. Higher education is expensive. It always has been expensive. It's not uncommon for students to carry at least some debt which is why many find part time jobs to help with expenses.

70% of students graduating with a Bachelors degree has some measure of debt.  About 35% of all undergraduates make use of federal and state grants or loans. Those with certain majors such as science, mathematics, computer science/robotics, finance/economics/accounting, and engineering---degrees in high demand. In some cases, employers will help pay off their student debt!

Those with the lowest---or no debt---when they graduate are those attending trade schools. An average of $10,000 in debt for trade schools vs. 36,000 for a BA/BS degree. Getting a degree in one of the trades, such as carpentry, electricity, or plumbing, HVAC are in high demand and  is faster---six months to two years to complete compared to four years for a Bachelor's degree.

 Many start earning while still in school as apprentices, and most have jobs before they graduate. The median income for a trade school graduate is $42,000 compared to $36,000 for a four year undergraduate. Statistically, degrees in the arts, music, gender or racial studies, or philosophy face the lowest prospects of employment and tend to have the largest debt. They also earn less than average.  

So, here's the rub. Students graduating from college, many of whom with degrees that have little demand in the job market that doesn't involve "you want to supersize those fries?" are demanding that taxpayers paid for their poor decision making skills. The Biden/Harris Administration has placed so-called "debt forgiveness" at or near the top of their domestic priorities.

Thus far, Biden has authorized "forgiving" $150 billion dollars which covers about five million students It's worth mentioning that with "debt forgiveness" the debt just doesn't magically disappear with the stroke of a pen. The government assumes the debt, which means taxpayers pick up the tab...as usual.

As Vice President, Harris has supported Biden's efforts to eliminate student debt. She also backed forgiving debt between $10,000 and $20,000 for every borrower. That, however, was shot down by the Supreme Court. It should be pointed out that former President Donald Trump opposes all out debt forgiveness but supports restructuring debt payback such as eliminating interest rates and other fees.

We've come a long way from fried chicken, biscuits and gravy to illegal immigration and student debt, but each of these issues deeply affect every working class American. We face a rising poverty rate as more and more of our fellow citizens are unable to keep up with rising prices (especially medical) and ever increasing taxes (which I believe should be voted on by registered voters as originally intended).  

Illegal immigration serves the interests of Wall Street. It creates a artificial demand for jobs, which drives down wages and benefits (in many cases eliminating benefits altogether). It also increases the demand on our taxpayer funded social safety net. You can bet that if the ruling elite didn't benefit from illegal immigration, it wouldn't still be happening.

It's time we put working class Americans at the top of our national domestic policy. If we continue with the same old smoke and mirrors game of politics, our collective future looks bleak regardless of who occupies the Oval Office or controls Capitol Hill. VP Kamala Harris has not just told us what she wants to do, her actions has shown us what she intends to do. The only real question then is not whether you can live with it, but whether this is what you want for your children and grand children to live with?

 

 If you enjoyed the article, please consider passing it along to others and don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly please be sure to "like" us on whatever platform you use to read anotheropinionblog.com. It helps beat the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Thank you!

 

Federal Reserve Bank/St. Louis: Average Price: ChickenBreast, Boneless (Costs per Pound/Grams 453.6 Grams) in U.S. City Average

McDonald's menu prices have increased by over 100% during the last decade: study

Federal Reserve Bank/St. Louis: Average Price: Sugar, White, All Sizes (Costs per Pound/453.6 Grams)  in U.S. City Average

Food Inflation in the United States (1968-2014)

Charted: Inflation Across the U.S. Fast Food Chains (2014 -2024)

Statista: Have Wages Kept Up With Inflation?

 

What Kamala Harris has said (and done) about student loansduring her career