Make lawmakers pay attention
I have long been angry, fed up and disgusted with what is happening in our state and our country and judging by the letters to the editor over the last several weeks, I'm not alone. We are involved in a senseless politician's war, people are losing their jobs, their homes and their health insurance.
Who's to blame? I blame our government. This administration is corrupt to the core. Bush will go down into the history books as one of the worst presidents we've had. Vice President Dick Cheney used to head Halliburton and that company received a no-bid Pentagon contract for billions of dollars. Coincidence? Many of our congressmen are INVESTING in companies that have received Pentagon contracts. Conflict of interest? (see: Center for Responsive Politics). Two of the largest investors are John Kerry and Joe Lieberman.
We learned in school that our government is for the people, of the people and by the people. Baloney! This government is for large corporations, of large corporations and by large corporations. This is the reason our gas prices are at record highs while the oil companies are experiencing obscene record profits. This is the reason our health and drug costs have spiraled out of sight. This is the reason we have lost tens of thousands of jobs as companies move their operations overseas. This is the reason our wages can't keep up with rising costs while CEOs are making tens of millions of dollars.
While our congress has sat on their collective behinds counting the Latino vote, millions of illegals from various countries have infiltrated our society and used up welfare funds, raised the cost of health care for those of us who have it, adversely affected the quality of our schools and raised the crime rate. See: Federation for American Immigration Reform and Center for Immigration Studies.
While our congressmen have sat with gun lobbyists, our high schools and college campuses have become unsafe from wackos with assault rifles and handguns easier to obtain than a library card. The streets of our major cities are not safe either. How many more school children in Chicago must die by guns ?
On the state level, things are no better. We have an inept governor who refuses to live in Springfield and bills Illinois taxpayers thousands of dollars each time he "commutes" to and from Chicago. Our state is continually in financial straits and has made a habit of balancing its budget by withholding money from state pension plans and health insurance programs for state retirees. I should mention that there is ONE pension fund that goes untouched. Want to guess which one? The fund for congressmen and women and judges. Despite what some people think, it is not the pensions that are bankrupting the state. It is corruption and fiscal mismanagement for the last umpteen years.
If you feel like I and others do, then write, e-mail or call your representatives and senators. Letters to newspapers are good for stirring up sentiment and sharing thoughts, etc, but ultimately our trusted elected officials are the ones who must hear our outrage.
Paul Matuszewski
Mundelein