To the Editor:

United States elites have fostered a neoliberal economic system that enhances their economic control. The three pillars of their economic structure are privatization, no regulations, and lower taxes on the wealthy.

It is a prescription for the creation of inequality and the accumulation of great wealth for the few.

The top 10 percent of earners now garner more than 50 percent of income nationally and the top 1 percent over 20 percent.

This is not sustainable.

The dark side of the neoliberal agenda is its threat to Social Security and Medicare.

Its apostles preach austerity to their constituents and mendaciously claim that there exists a dearth of capital for safety net programs and for the financing of earned retirement benefits.

The majority in both political parties adhere to the precepts of neoliberalism.

Thanks to Bernie Sanders, there has developed a critical analysis of this economic paradigm and a call for fundamental change.

His movement, “Our Revolution” and other affiliated organizations have formulated ideas for a more egalitarian economy.

Undergirding their principles is a commitment to a fairer distribution of wealth, of the development of a stronger middle class, and of enshrining empathy and compassion into the economic-political matrix.

Empathy and compassion are inclusive and facilitate connections and community. M.L.King’s idea of the Beloved Community comes to mind. One can only imagine what a society would be like based on empathy, compassion, and love.

Obviously, such a transformation would be an improvement over the present regime who have put out a tribal call for white supremacy. The world’s populations are crying out for help and an empathetic response to their suffering.

They are answered by a nationalistic, xenophobic, refrain: “Make America Great Again”.

Donald Torrence

Joliet