It is time to act

If things don’t add up, it makes sense to see if something has been left out of the equation

- Jesse Jackson

That’s the case today. The experts tell us that the economy is as good as it has been in decades – unemployment at record lows, inflation under control, wages finally rising faster than prices.

Yet, most people are unhappy and pessimistic. President Biden’s approval rating is still underwater. Donald Trump, his likely opponent in the presidential race, is even less popular. What’s going on?

Americans aren’t wrong. They struggle every day with what pundits call a “polycrisis.” That’s a fancy word for a lot of big things going wrong in a big way all at once. Catastrophic climate change, pandemics, extreme inequality, a broken and unaffordable health care system, a dangerously decrepit infrastructure, a growing Cold War amid unending forever wars – this list can go on.

These crises are real and present. Families and communities take the hit again and again.

Extreme heat—or floods or forest fires or hurricanes – take lives and destroy homes. Ancient pipes serve up poisonous drinking water. People can’t afford to get sick. Big money and powerful lobbies block vital reform. Now billionaires are paying for a new party – the No Labels (and Dark Money) Party, as if owning the two major parties were not enough.