Letters to the editor: Real problems lie with Congress

Real problems lie with Congress

I write in support of George Speck from last week’s letters to the editor.

Regarding the greed of the very rich: Somehow the dominant media “frame” continues the absurd idea that defending the people who suck up societal resources means protecting the “job creators.”

This is exactly the reverse of what is actually happening.

Despite the fact that many people are starting to realize this, those who hold the strings on the lawmakers continue to make them vote the wrong way repeatedly.

This is an ageless pattern across troubled states ... people falling for outright lies and misrepresentations, then defending their own foolishness because they’re invested in their group’s opinion, however stupid it is in reality.

Obama of all people must know this, but is constrained within the chess/poker morass he inherited. If he had a more intelligent, honest Congress, this could change dramatically over several years, much as FDR succeeded in changing the media frames of his era.

But it may have to get a lot worse before this can happen, since the rich are just getting richer, and proportionately many people “in the middle” are still doing relatively well. While the poor, as usual, are way underrepresented.

We have a dysfunctional system, both obvious and intractable.

The president called on the people to send their opinions directly to Congress this month, and the servers crashed repeatedly from the public outrage. If enough concerned people would vote accordingly, real change would still be possible.

However, the circus in Washington last week must give most observers pause.

As the president said, this is no way to run a government.