Stop pandering to business interests

America was built when there were fewer people, but those relatively few people paid higher taxes. They shared the costs, shared the labor and shared the pride of building America. Today, there is an attempt to undermine those efforts and sacrifices.

Today, those who inherited America, a larger group than the builders were, refuse to pay taxes to repair, save or honor the infrastructure and institutions passed on to them. In addition, the GOP and the tea party are acting like entitled brats by defaming history and hijacking the colonial tea party name while reconstructing the very scheme that was distained.

Kings, be they congressional representatives, CEOs, Wall Street players or T-Rex sized corporations, are accumulating great wealth at the expense of constituents, employees, the land, the water, the air and the health, welfare and education of America’s society. They seem dedicated to creating law, budgets and business practices that refuse to share profits gleaned from a united structure that gave them opportunity.

They deny responsibility in maintaining a healthy environment and caring for the poor and the weak and seem focused on building their own dream while turning their fellow Americans’ dreams into nightmares.

Illinois’ governor had the old-fashioned patriotism to raise taxes, particularly corporate taxes. In prior weeks, front-page headlines featured Caterpillar’s CEO and Republicans whining about the sour business climate in Illinois. Back page headlines now reveal that Caterpillar’s CEO compensation quadrupled and his predecessor retired making more than $22.5 million.

Caterpillar, ComEd, Exelon and others are raping Illinois while some GOP legislators decry making legally required pension payments owed workers, most of whom make a paltry percentage of these CEOs’ salaries.

We need old-fashioned patriots, both federal and state, who refuse to pander to business and special interests and start making America their priority again.

Gail Talbot

Huntley