We must demand change to our current system

Jeremy M. Christensen, Las Vegas

Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011 | 2 a.m.

Some people keep saying we shouldn’t spend more money than we make.

We also shouldn’t quit full-time jobs for part-time jobs when we have bills to pay.

We shouldn’t have cut reasonable taxes when our economy was booming and then started spending a lot more money on two wars and prescription drug benefits.

We shouldn’t have left out the cost of those wars when we calculated our budget deficit or have been surprised that our debt and deficit increased when we finally did include those costs.

We shouldn’t concentrate the wealth of our nation in as few hands as possible. It drives down demand and hurts the economy. Part of what has driven our economy since the Industrial Revolution was the redistribution of wealth from hoarders to the benefit of the nation. This was accomplished through taxes and unions and some astute business leaders such as Henry Ford.

We shouldn’t allow financial corporations, insurance companies, ratings agencies and powerful individuals to manipulate our economic system to benefit a very small portion of our population and bring untold suffering on the vast majority. Those who willfully enrich themselves at great cost and detriment to their nation should be held accountable for those actions.

We must demand transparency in our laws, politics and economics. We need a political system that allows for access to the people.

The two-party primary system, gerrymandering, ballot access laws, voter apathy and money have crippled our selection process and removed accountability. That process must be changed. We must demand that change.