The wealthiest people hold all the power

It is bewildering that the wealthiest people do not want to pay their share of taxes but at the same time want to reduce the amount of tax money used for social programs yet want to continue to spend hundreds of billions on our military industrial complex.

Reducing foreign aide for food and other basic needs but keeping foreign military aide may illustrate the real values of those who rule our country. The wealthiest 10 percent controls three quarters of the nation's wealth. This leads to not only a concentration of money and education, but also a concentration of power. And this concentration of power results in fewer opportunities for those at the bottom, and therefore fewer people are able to achieve the American dream of a better life for their children.

The fact that the median net worth of black households was $2,200 in 2009 and the median net worth of white households was $97,900 demonstrates that our country doesn't give everyone an equal chance to succeed. Since 1979, almost all of the gains in income caused by higher worker productivity have gone to the wealthiest Americans. If the new income had been distributed more equitably, the average family would have $10,000 more each year. Our economy must work for everyone.

The wealth gap is a power gap, because money equals power. And when the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest (or even those in the middle) is as big as it is today, then only the wealthy are able to exert power. The more money behind something, the more noise it makes.

Terri Nederhiser

Cedar Rapids