Equality ruled out

“All men are created equal.” Due to growing inequality, those words from Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg no longer apply.

In 2014, research by Princeton and Northwestern universities determined that government policies reflect the desires of the wealthy, making influence by the vast majority of American citizens statistically nonsignificant. Regarding that study, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders questioned Federal Reserve Bank Chairwoman Janet Yellen. She stated, “There’s no question that we’ve had a trend toward growing inequality.”

People lost equality when five of nine Supreme Court justices ordained it. Now, money buys law. Five justices forgot that the Constitution of the United States starts with, “We the people.” We the people – not corporations; not the wealthy.

Due to those five justices, people who control wealth have the right to determine by whom and how we are ruled. Two examples show how five justices contributed to inequality: Citizens United v. FEC allows corporations to fund elections; McCutcheon v. FEC provided similar law for wealthy individuals.

Now, voters encourage continued inequality when they agree with attack ads instead of researching issues. To reinstate equality in our government, we need to vote for candidates not supported by wealth and corporations.

James Isabell

Spokane