I often think of the book, The Grapes of Wrath, a classic by John Steinbeck,[1] when I think about current politics in the U.S. I wonder why no one has written like that about conditions in America today. Maybe some have; we'll see later.
In the just narrowly avoided reckless default on the National Debt, the Republicans, in H.R. 2811,[2] sought to cut funding for workers, veterans, social security, health care and the poor. (Have you ever noticed how little the Republicans talk about the poor? Usually, it is something negative, wanting to take something away from what little they have, just like inflation does.) They refused to consider the other side of the debt, raising taxes; they even cut back on the funding for the IRS that was for going after the tax evaders, particularly the rich ones. Republicans refuse to talk or do anything about the grossly unequal income and wealth conditions that have developed in the last 43+ years.
The quality of living in the U.S. has declined, not only for the poor, but for the middle classes too. "The Social Progress Index, which considers itself "the most comprehensive measure of a country's social and environmental performance independent of economic factors," determined that out of 163 countries, only the United States, Brazil and Hungary had slid backward over the past decade. And though the declines were small, the U.S. saw the largest reduction in terms of overall score."[3] The growing extreme inequality in income and wealth has made conditions for a large portion of Americans even worse.[4]
The politicians, particularly the Republicans, as well as most of the media, ignore what has been taking place in the lives of ordinary Americans. One Youtuber, Nick Johnson,[5] has been driving around the U.S. and recording what this decline looks like. One episode recorded his return to his home town, San Bernardino, CA.
Two books, one published in March 2023, the other coming in June 2023, may rise to the level of "Grapes of Wrath":
Poverty, by America by Desmond, Matthew
"The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?"End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration by Turchin, Peter
"Peter Turchin provides a powerful synthesis of the historical forces that have brought American society to the dangerous ledge upon which it now teeters. With both clarity and methodological innovation, Turchin shows us on a grand scale why we must address wealth inequality in order to preserve democracy and our nation's political order." — Admiral James Stavridis
Donald Trump in 2016 won the Presidency by promising to Make America Great Again; he tapped into the despair of 63 million voters, but his tax cuts for the rich in 2017 just made things better for billionaires[6] and added $7.8 trillion to the national debt.[7]
President Biden and the Democrats have passed legislation to address some of the problems of America, but more needs to be done in the years ahead to avoid the economic and civil disasters that loom ahead.[8]
Additional sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/07/why-poverty-might-be-far-worse-in-the-us-than-its-reported.html
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/top-12-solutions-cut-poverty-united-states/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/magazine/poverty-by-america-matthew-desmond.html
https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-277.html
The_Grapes_of_Wrath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grapes_of_Wrath)↩︎
As GOP Aims to Punish Poor, CBO Says Extending Trump Tax Cuts for Rich Would Add $3.5 Trillion to Deficit↩︎
A Global Anomaly, the U.S. Declines in Annual Quality of Life Report↩︎
Fueling Inequality, Earnings of Top 0.1% in US Have Soared by 465% Since 1979: Analysis↩︎
Trump’s tax cuts helped billionaires pay less than the working class for first time | US economy | The Guardian↩︎
Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years — ProPublica↩︎
Good points, Pat. I didn't follow the "news" about the debt ceiling closely, because I had no hope that there would be any real change. I heard the "defense" budget got a 10% increase, though.