To the Editor:

It is encouraging to see more and more letters to the editor noting that our economic and political systems are not working for everyone. My unscientific opinion is that 1 percent of the people in the world are predator/sociopathic, 1 percent care about others and are working for a better world, and 98 percent are just trying to get by. The predatory 1 percent hold power in government and business and make the rules to their advantage. A Concise Economic History of the World, by Cameron/Neal, describes this process. 

The American middle class thrived after World War II because there was so much wealth (prosperity) that the rich couldn’t accumulate it fast enough to deprive the working people. This turned around in the 1980s as the wealthy gained more and more leverage.

I am not a socialist, I am just asking for a level playing field, an even break, if you will. I would like to see a coalition of those trying to improve life in various ways, or at least a widespread realization that our current economic and political system is corrupt and works better for some than others, e.g., corporate emphasis today is on the investors, not the customers or the employees. 

An example would be the health insurance industry. The system is not broken for everyone. Those with money and power will push back using any means necessary to preserve the status quo. At the least there will be name calling, and at the worst, well, read The Lessons of History, by Will and Ariel Durant. 

David Stearns

Otto