Let them eat cake, by John Miller

This was written before the presidential election.-- Ed.

There is a problem in America, it’s called three card Monty (SCM), and it is destroying our society.

The game has been around for thousands of years, used mostly by thieves, scam artists, and politicians. Like the card game where you flip three cards over and have the person pick the ace, the crafty card dealer will shift the cards around at a fast pace to confuse the sucker picking a card. It is very difficult to follow the cards because the dealer will use his or her hands to cover the cards.

Generations of thieves and scam artists later, we have their offspring as the new candidates for the next run for the presidency. We have another election on our door step, and as Americans we have the right and duty to vote in our candidate that best suits our morals, ideals, and checkbook.

The hot item this election is undocumented workers and the poor. Are they being targeted as the scapegoat or just the pawns to reach each candidate's goals of presidency in these United States? Most people will choose a side to support, and that position depends on what side of the fence they are on. No, not “Trump’s wall.” I am talking about the poor side of the fence or the middle class side of the fence. We will include the rich later; it only seems fair.

The gradually shrinking middle class is upset about their place in the wealth chain, and the politicians are blaming the undocumented workers who are taking their jobs and using state programs that were put in place to help documented Americans. A perfect three card Monty play: While the middle class is outraged over the undocumented workers, they are easily led into plans to eliminate the immigrants from our hard earned American soil. However, the shrinking middle class has little to do with the undocumented workers and everything to do with the cheap labor and taxes in Mexico, Canada, and let’s not forget China.

Actually, there are many reasons for our shrinking middle class, but let's stick to the main switcheroo: the undocumented workers. But building a billion dollar wall to fix it is asinine. The game is on: Trump is using the wall to blind us to the real reasons for a shrinking middle class. The Berlin wall that was put up to separate East Berlin from West Berlin became a constant reminder of how people who can’t live together solve their problems with an ugly wall. How refreshing would it be to hear real solutions on how to boost the middle class in a positive direction to help rise back as a signficant force in America.

The second victim is the not-so-forgotten poor, and they are also being used to smoke screen (TCM) the middle class. The politicians would have the middle class believe the poor are the cause of all the middle class’s loss of jobs and wages. The poor drain the system with more government handouts to help them survive a very bad time in their lives. This results in higher taxes for everyone, continuing the rising animosity towards the poor from the rest of society and the class warfare that is tearing the United States apart.

We used to hate poverty, but now we hate the poor. The poor in America have a difficult time just surviving without the constant barrage from the rest of society blaming them for their own problems. The middle class are blind to the fact that the rich in America blame the middle class for all of their troubles, like not amassing even more money that they will never use or spend. Let’s face the facts: The poor have to toe the line when it comes to receiving government welfare. The rest of society is bombarded with images of welfare recipients cheating the system through outright fraud or using handouts for liquor or cigarettes. The true needy suffer from this abuse of a system that can help them make it through another day. This opinion paper does not begin to solve all the problems with the welfare system in America.

There is a three-tier society in the United States: The rich, the middle class and the poor. They are all Americans. That is an important point to make to all three groups that, despite what they have been led to believe about the other groups, they are American citizens just like you and me, with families, hopes, and dreams to better themselves. Instead, we point the finger of blame on our fellow Americans as to why we cannot move forward in our life’s ambitions. I say we have another national holiday called “Cake Fest.” Everybody gets together and eats cake. Everybody likes cake, and what a great way to talk in a relaxed atmosphere than with cake and people from all walks of life. If you don’t like cake, then we can send you back to Russia with the other cake-hating rabble.