Rich get richer
The pandemic has been a boon for the rich and a bust for everyone else. Apple’s stock value is up 133 percent since March to $2.29 trillion. Amazon is up 70 percent. The 659 U.S. billionaires increased their wealth by more than $1 trillion, giving them collectively almost twice as much wealth as 165 million Americans at the lower half of the wealth totem pole.
Just half of the 22 million jobs lost last spring have been recovered. More than 400,000 small businesses have closed permanently.
Although 45 of the top 50 publicly traded firms turned a profit last year, 27 laid off a total of more than 100,000 employees.
Billions paid to investors did not trickle down to workers. Jeff Bezos gets $11.5 million richer by the hour. Walmart founder Sam Walton’s three heirs increased their wealth by $40.7 billion — 26 times the hazard pay Walmart provided its entire workforce of 1.5 million workers last year.
Thousands of Amazon and Walmart workers still have incomes so low they must rely on food stamps and other government assistance to enable them to survive, meaning taxpayers are footing the bill for the billions these corporate scumbags are sucking in.
Our government can afford to subsidize the corporate cash cows but can’t afford any more than two paltry “stimulus bones” for the hundreds of millions of financially strapped Americans?
Does anyone see anything wrong with this picture, other than those of us at the lower end of the wealth totem pole?
Mike Epstein
Clarkston
Trump lit the match
I watched as U.S. citizens stormed the Capitol. I listened as former President Donald Trump and other pundits explained that this is what happens when voters feel disenfranchised, victims of a fraudulent election.
I agree that many felt defrauded, but let’s examine the cause for this widespread feeling. For months before the election, in a preemptive attempt to provide an excuse should he lose, Trump warned of a fraudulent election. The ex-president’s words matter, and millions of people believe what he says. His repeated claim of fraud was embraced as fact.
When the results of the election came, and he did lose, the only conclusion for many of his followers was that the fix was in.
In the following weeks, his fraudulent campaign, through repetitive disinformation, further agitated his followers.
On Jan. 6, fueled with rage and goaded on by a Trump rally, these “disenfranchised” followers invaded the Capitol.
I lay the blame for their rage and ultimate invasion squarely on the former president. His preelection misinformation readied the tinder, his postelection campaign lit the match and his Jan. 6 rally created the blaze.
Shame on him for creating this hateful environment. And shame on us for being taken in.
Wyatt Coil
Orofino
This is newsworthy?
The Jan. 17 Lewiston Tribune printed a photo of a dog pissing. I reckon no Tribune readers had ever seen this rare phenomenon. If Lewis County Sheriff Jason Davis had marked his territory, that would have been newsworthy.
A front-page photo on Jan. 24 solidifies the Trib’s standing for incoherent captions, stating “Cole Healy works on repairing the timing belt and water pump ...” of a vehicle. Healy stands underneath the car in a supplicating pose, hands uplifted as if beseeching the automotive repair gods. He is about a yard below the timing belt, which, I hear, cannot be repaired and water pump. Those parts are beyond his reach.
Clumsy captions, photo of urinating dog — impressive as cheap plastic toys. The likes of Jimmy Breslin, Mike Royko and Red Smith need fear no competition from here.
Also on Jan. 24, Opinion page editor Marty Trillhaase sent his A-team — Brian Rhoades, Sam Bacharach of Dawsonville, Ga. (Moscow faint-hearted?), Joan Vanhorn (residual anti-Trump bile), Richard Strongoni and Jim Roach — to ridicule common sense.
Paul Oman was missing. His laser-like hatred of Trump makes him a one-trick pony.
Make the deplorables obey. Force the sheeple to conform.
“Out, damned spot” to sensible reasoning, Trillhaase thus declares. Many now believe big media’s monstrous lies.
With former President Donald Trump gone, socialist venom must go somewhere.
Though truth is scarce, Lucky Brandt, Ginny Fischer and Ben Seubert wrote factually.
The Jan. 24 Opinions included good columns by Richard Eggleston, George Will and Dennis Prager.
Hallelujah.
Bridger Barnett
Clarkston
