Let's focus on real problems

“Fix-the-Debt” is a national group of Wall-Street-connected financial fat cats who want to increase their wealth at our expense by cutting Social Security, Medicare; etc.; reducing corporate tax rates (already full of loopholes); and imposing austerity measures (not working in Europe). Iowa's FTD steering committee is composed of primarily Republicans, among them is David Oman, former chief-of-staff to Gov. Terry Branstad, and Iowa Sen. Bill Dix.

Names like Allan Simpson and Erskine Bowles (who pockets millions as director of numerous companies, allowing top executives to draw excessive salaries, which rip off the companies they run). These millionaires and billionaires are part of the corrupt corporate system. The Fix-the-Debt group wants to reduce our Social Security benefits (which are already low) by pleasantly lying to us, telling us that Social Security contributes to the country's debt.

We all know that our Social Security, by law, is self-funding and couldn't add to the debt.

These Fix-the-Debt supporters intend to keep us from focusing on the real problem: the already-rich are far richer than they used to be, and are grabbing more and more of the nation's wealth, already garnering 93 percent of the gains. The richest 400 Americans now have more wealth than the bottom 150 million of us.

Yet, they want us to suffer austerity, which means crumbling bridges in our state, education starved for funding, fewer inspectors for our nursing homes and our foods, cuts to the very services which make our life tolerable.

Susie Petra

Ames