"When I give food to the poor, I'm called a saint. When I ask why they are poor, I'm called a communist." -Archbishop Dom Helder Camara.
If Jeff Bezos gave every one of Amazon's 876,000 employees worldwide a bonus of $100,000, he would still have a higher net worth than he did less than four months ago.
Although Trumpism was firmly rooted in bigotry, it also tapped into the belief that the economic and political systems of this country are rigged against honest people who work for a living. And while Trump's prescription of bilking the taxpayers for his own personal gain made this worse, the diagnosis was spot on.
Failing to address these systemic issues will no doubt lead to another Trump-like charlatan. Democrats could repeal the massive tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires rammed through by the previous regime but even that negligible change is not on their agenda.
We cannot have a system where the well-being of the hard working many is entirely dependent on the charity whim of a tiny elite. The result will, without doubt, be another demagogue, outright revolution or both.
As Alexander Hamilton wrote, "As riches accumulate in few hands, as luxury prevails in society, the tendency will be to depart from the republican standard. It is what neither the honorable member nor myself can correct. It is a common misfortune, that awaits our state constitution."
