By Robert Dean
For the Carter County Times
Now that the dog and pony show of both the RNC and the DNC is over, wouldn’t it be prudent to ask: do you feel any better? The whooping cries of “the bad guy is wearing red, or the liar is wearing blue” have faded into the back pages while new scandals poise themselves for media fodder. But really, take a moment: do you feel like the American system believes in investing in your success?
The American psyche is exhausted once again as the mudslinging of the election cycle is upon us. For another two and a half months, we’re lucky enough to get endless quotes about the other side’s incompetence, about how a scandal is brewing in the other camp, about how the other sycophant has their nefarious claws at ready to launch into the back of anyone just out there trying to get their bills paid.
And that’s where the rub starts: paying your bills. As wages stagnate, we need accountability when we run our cards through the machine. Do politicians care about the price of Doritos? No, they care about donors padding their pockets – on both sides.
How can someone at a podium look Americans in the face and talk about prosperity as a country when a brown paper sack of groceries consisting of little less than eggs, bread, lunch meat, and some odds and ends cost as much as a light bill? Why is it that when we fill up for gas, we’re the ones who get the shaft because there was an outage or there was a shuffle in the c-suite, so once again, the buck is passed to the consumer as profits soar. Right now, oil companies and most grocery stores are racking in those dollars. Shouldn’t we address this for the crime it is? Kroger made 2.2 billion – with B in profits last year. Walmart wasn’t so far behind with their profit margins, either. Some of the folks reading this may have visited a food pantry because they had to choose between putting gas in the car or buying a box of shells and cheese for dinner – because putting that gas in the car at least got them to work where the cycle continues to spin out of control.
If we’re going to punch the ticket for these hucksters, ask them why the community center is asking for us to donate when those state funds should reflect our interests. Why aren’t the roads fixed, and why is a state job so hard to get when so much needs to be updated? I mean, have you seen the bridges and tunnels? Across America, our infrastructure is crumbling, and the reason we never got a decent package to put blue-collar people on the job site is partisan fighting like it always is. We deserve affordable gas, to not go broke back-to-school shopping, and to be able to make dinner without pinching pennies.
If you’re going to vote, don’t look at a ticket like the other choice has the plague, but ask yourself, how does my vote affect working-class people? Instead of just lamenting these problems, push for policies that ensure fair wages and corporate accountability. Ask tough questions and demand real answers. Too many politicians promise a ‘better tomorrow’ while ignoring the urgent needs of today—don’t be fooled by promises of a new park for the kids – in a few years. Those groceries ain’t gonna buy themselves.
Robert Dean is a journalist living in Austin, Texas. His work has been featured in MIC, Consequence of Sound, Houston Chronicle, and The Austin American Statesman, among other places. Grab his book of essays Existential Thirst Trap here.
