Predicting rise of the populist movement

For years I thought we'd see a populist movement rise.

Real wages had only gone up for 10 of the last 40 years with income inequality growing.

Good union jobs disappeared. Manufacturing moved overseas. Service sector jobs just don't pay as well as skilled manufacturing. Not everyone can be a Java programmer.

Then came the Tea Party, which on its face was supportive of government of and for the people. But the people who funded it were really Libertarian evangelists. They wanted small government that wouldn't impede their ability to pollute or employ low-wage workers under unsafe conditions. And low taxes.

The Tea Party got turned into an anti-government tool for vulture capitalism. If it were really about liberty, the Tea Party would have demanded government be stewards of the land and resources that support the common good.

The Tea Party morphed into the conservative movement.

Inexplicably, the movement then got co-opted by a fake-tan blowhard who sold his brand as the antidote to misery - some real, some imaginary.

Selfishness, loyalty tests, cronyism, cheating and the infestation of government with incompetents followed.

Now we have more than 74 million people who've fallen victim to a con artist with the support of propaganda media. Today I'm not seeing a way back to normal but I'm open to ideas.

David Troland

Arlington Heights