Will the Wealthy Run America's Government under Donald Trump?

I found this on the Facebook page of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders:

Trump is assembling the wealthiest cabinet in history — so wealthy that its members have more money than the bottom 1/3 of American households combined. That does not sound like an "anti-establishment" administration to me.

Can this really be true? Well, let's explore abit to see if there is anything to corroborate the assertion made by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.

Open the following embedded links for more on this subject:

• Donald Trump's Cabinet Could Be the Richest Ever, Sam Dangremond, December 5, 2016, Town & Country.
• Trump’s wealthy cabinet choices hark back to Gilded Age, Shawn Donnan, December 2, 2016, Financial Times.
• Trump assembles America's 'richest cabinet', 1 December 2016, BBC News.
• Bring on the billionaires! Donald Trump's cabinet is the richest in modern history - with a combined wealth of $10 BILLION (excluding the man himself), By Nikki Schwab, 1 December 2016, Daily Mail.

Okay, enough of that. Let's learn abit more about the folks with whom Donald Trump is surrounding himself. Open the following embedded link to learn:

• Who’s in Trump’s Cabinet? courtesy of CNN

In my opinion:

The wealthy have always seemed to control America, albeit covertly behind the scenes. Now, it looks as though the wealthy have overtly taken political control of the Government of the United States of America. The dominate force in the American electorate have sold their souls to the company store.

Hmmm.... How about a little diversion?

Have you ever wondered about the phrase, "sold their souls to the company store?"

Well, now you can learn about that phrase by opening the embedded link contained within the following:
Who Sold Their Souls to the Company Store?

As an aside:

The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. I just thought I'd throw that in just because it came to mind.

Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the U.S. (1829–1837), in his 1832 bank veto, said that, "when the laws undertake... to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society... have a right to complain of the injustice to their Government."

William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the U.S. (1841), said in an October 1, 1840 speech, "It is true democratic feeling, that all the measures of the government are directed to the purpose of making the rich richer and the poor poorer."

I am mindful of the urban legend that in 1789, when being told that her French subjects had no bread, Marie-Antoinette (bride of France's King Louis XVI) supposedly sniffed, “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche”—“Let them eat cake.”

I cannot help but wonder what will America be like for economically disadvantaged people and for the working middle-class in America under The Millionaire/Billionaire Club, aka the Executive Office of the President and The Cabinet of the administration of Donald Trump.

Workers Unite! All workers deserve to be paid a decent living wage.

Mechanic's Life (@mechanics.life2016) on Facebook posted a meme that stated:

"Share if you think Mechanics should be paid more than McDonalds workers."

Several people of whom I know re-posted the meme and others who I also know clicked onto the "Like" icon and/or commented favorably in support of the meme.

Me?
Well, here is a copy and paste of the response from me to an "friend" of mine who had re-postedthe meme on his Facebook wall:

Roland Louis Hansen - I believe everyone should receive a decent living wage above the poverty line and above the income level that qualifies people for food stamps. I would rather pay more in the private marketplace for goods and services than to pay more in taxes for welfare programs needed to supplement poverty level wages paid by employers who exploit working men and women. That being said, rather than put any group of workers down, I say pull all workers up. We need not pit one worker group over another in place of advocating for the betterment of all.

I say Workers Unite!

"Workers Uniting is the name of the new international union created by Unite - the biggest union in the UK and Republic of Ireland and the United Steelworkers (USW), North America's largest private sector union."

Follow the embedded link to visit and explore the website of Workers Uniting.

The problem as I see it, however, is that many people are competing with other people on the issue of wages and benefits rather than joining together in co-operative efforts. Instead of uniting for the protection and advancement of the mutual interests of all working men and women, workers in one or another occupation are, in fact, belittling workers in different other occupatious.

I ask that you read (just follow the embedded link contained therein):
Why Workers Won’t Unite

It is my opinion that the wages and benefits of American workes have declined as a result of the decline in American labor union membership.

I read an interesting article that started out with "Union membership has plummeted in the U.S., from nearly one-third of workers 50 years ago to one in 10 American workers today."
To read the rest of that article, go on over to:
The incredible decline of American unions, in one animated map, Ana Swanson, Wonkblog, The Washington Post, February 24, 2015.

I could go on and on about all this, but instead of that, I just would like to recommend you read each of the following (embedded links contained within each title):

• A Decade of Declining Wages, From Bad to Worse, Publications, POLICY NOTE 2015/3, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, March 2015.

• For most workers, real wages have barely budged for decades, Drew DeSilver, Fact Tank, Pew Research Center, October 9, 2014

• Here's the real reason you don't make enough money, Commentary by Thomas A. Kochan, Fortune, September 1, 2015.

Put CHRIST back in Christmas

Here we are in the year 2016; and, The War on Christmas has begun once again!

As a person of the Jewish religion, I am so frustrated by the deluge of people offended by the greeting Happy Holidays" who clamor all over the place with the battle cry "Put CHRIST back in Christmas."

Why does this controversial non-controversy happen each and every year?

The religious holiday (as in HOLY day) of Christmas is observed by Christians, not non-Christians. A Christian may observe Chanukah without violating his or her own Christian belief; but, a Jewish person cannot observe Christmas without violating his or her own Jewish belief.

I am aware of many people who are prejudiced, racist, anti-LGBT, xenophobic that are extremely assertive that Americans need to "Put CHRIST back in Christmas." To them, I put forth the following meme:

The truly religious and observant Christian has always put CHRIST in Christmas! Christ has never been removed from Christmas.

So, what does the phrase "Put CHRIST back in Christmas" really mean? For the answer to that question, I implore you to read the article as embedded within its title:
What Do We Mean By 'Putting Christ Back in Christmas'?
By Phillip Larsen 12-05-2013
 
That all being said, I now wish to shout out:

To all my Christian friends, I wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS.