Chapter 1 – Where it all began

“Let us not be unmindful that liberty is power; that the nation blessed with the largest portion of liberty must in proportion to its numbers be the most powerful nation upon earth.” - John Quincy Adams

     First, let us recap where we, as a country, stand today. (Hint: it’s not great.) Our financial system is fragile, due to COVID-19 and the shutdown of our economy. On March 9, 2020 the Dow dropped 2000 points, the largest single-day loss in the history of the stock exchange. (Chapter 9 COVID-19).

     Our national debt sits at a staggering $23.25 trillion and is growing at an alarming rate. It is the largest deficit in our history. (Chapter 7 Economics).

     We are still haunted by one of the deadliest school shootings in United States history, where 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on February 14, 2018. Four months earlier, on October 1, 2017, Stephan Paddock killed 58 people and injured over 500 when he opened fire from a Las Vegas hotel overlooking a concert attended by 22,000 people, making this the deadliest mass shooting ever. (Chapter 6 Gun Control).

     Our infrastructure is crumbling. Since 2014 there have been 26 Amtrak derailments. Our road surfaces are a disaster. Bridges and tunnels built in the 1930s are collapsing or crumbling around and under us, and need to be replaced. Based on a report released by TRIP titled National Bridge News Release, as of 2012, “a total of 25 percent of the nation’s bridges (20 feet or longer) are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Eleven percent of America’s bridges are structurally deficient, meaning there is significant deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components. Bridges that are structurally deficient may be posted for lower weight limits or closed if their condition warrants such action. An additional 14 percent of the nation’s bridges are functionally obsolete. Functionally obsolete bridges no longer meet current highway design standards, often due to narrow lanes, inadequate clearances or poor alignment with the approaching roadway” [3] (Chapter 3 Infrastructure).

     Our students are significantly outpaced by other countries, particularly in math. (Chapter 5 Education).

     We find ourselves with troops deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. We are at odds with Iran and North Korea regarding nuclear weapons. The Russians have just been indicted for using social media to tamper with the 2016 presidential election. (Chapter 2 Foreign Affairs).

     Our healthcare system is a laughingstock. Between what was introduced by President Obama and then recently overhauled by President Trump, no one really knows what it takes to get it right while not hurting those that need it the most. Compared to 10 of our peer countries in healthcare statistics, we rank dead last. We have the highest infant mortality rate compared to those same countries. Yes, that shocked me too. (Chapter 4 Healthcare).

     We are running out of natural resources at a catastrophic rate, and we are experiencing more frequent and severe natural catastrophes due to global warming. The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season will long be remembered as one of the busiest and most destructive seasons on record. (Chapter 8 Environmental).

     If we compare where we are as a country today, to any other point in our history, there are some similarities to the late 1920s, especially regarding the Stock Market crash and the eventual Great Depression. Looking at this period, we will see how the government played a vital role in turning the country around. (Chapter 3 Infrastructure).

     During my travels and as I made these observations, the question I kept asking myself was, how did we get here? How did things get this bad? When did the government start failing us? My conclusion is that we actually experienced a perfect storm between two major factors. So, when, exactly, did the government start failing us? Let’s take a closer look.

     The first factor coincided with the Gilded Age. “The Gilded Age is a period in American society (between the Civil War and World War I) with rapid economic growth but also characterized by corruption, materialism, monopolistic businesses and growing inequality.

     The Gilded Age was a time of unbridled capitalism, with some business leaders becoming very wealthy through the consolidation of key industries into powerful monopolies.

     The term ‘Gilded Age’ implies that the outer wealth was a mask for inner corruption and inner poverty. ‘Gilded Age’ is a satire on the rich monopolists, who were accused of gaining wealth through monopolistic practices, mistreatment of workers and corruption of the political process”. [4]

     Greed! It became the driving factor, and for the first time in the history of the United States, we had some very wealthy and powerful men who would drive the government and their agendas, including how we handled foreign affairs and what was at the best interest of big business. Coincidentally, this is also the same time that we started to see intense lobbying occurring. Technically, the First Amendment allows for lobbying. It states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” [5] The last statement, “petition the Government for a redress of grievances”, technically allows for lobbying, but up until this point, lobbying was “practiced discreetly”. [6]

     The second factor in why our government is failing us has to do with the national divide. This divide results from our two-party system, and the fact that the chasm is growing wider and wider. The divide can also be seen between the upper vs. lower class, conservatives vs. liberals and, some would argue, blacks vs. whites. What we end up with is people and political parties at the extreme ends of the spectrum. We have become a polarized nation. I could probably write an entire book on how we became a polarized nation and suggestions on how to fix it, but instead, I’ll leave that to the experts. Here are three books on the topic:
     1) Why We're Polarized, by Ezra Klein
     2) The Big Sort by Bill Bishop
     3) The Great Alignment: Race, Party Transformation, and the Rise of Donald Trump, by Alan I. Abramowitz

     An article written by Nicole Sinclair titled Harvard Professor Identifies the “Worst Nightmare” in America right now, highlights the findings of a Harvard Business School study on US Competitiveness led by Professors Michael Porter, Jan Rivkin and Mihir Desai.

     “We’ve concluded after these five years of work on this that actually the political system and the political rhetoric is the problem at the core,” Porter said. “Because of the political gridlock we’ve not been able to make any progress on a lot of the basics.” The political system is hindering economic development in America.

     “I’m an economist and the last thing I thought I would end up doing when I got into this project was to actually start deeply studying the political system,” Porter told Yahoo Finance. “But we’ve now concluded that’s where the root cause of where America is today. We have a lot of strengths. We are very dynamic. We have tremendous people. We have a lot of assets. We’re just stalled.”

     “Today, we believe that our political system is now the major obstacle to progress on the economy, especially at the federal level,” according to the report.

     Sinclair writes “Meanwhile, trust for political leaders has declined significantly over the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, according to the report. In 1958, three out of four Americans trusted their government. Today less than one in five trust their governments to do the right thing.” [7]

     It’s now up to us, as Americans, to force change! Remember the wise words of Abraham Lincoln at his Gettysburg address: “A government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”

     [1] HBO TV show The Newsroom, A college student asks a panel “can you say why America is the greatest country in the world”? This was actor, Jeff Daniels, playing the role of Will McAvoy's, response.
     [2] Constitution for the United States of America.
     [3] Tripnet.org - National Bridge News Release - 05/24/2013
     [4] Gilded Age defined - Biographyonline
     [5] Constitution for the United States of America. — First Amendment
     [6] History of lobbying in the United States – Wikipedia 
     [7] Harvard professor identifies the 'worst nightmare' in America right now Nicole Sinclair September 15, 2016 - yahooFinance

     Excerpted from Why the Government is failing..."We The People" by John M. Zito Copyright © 2020 by John M. Zito