Today's political turmoil in the nation is mostly over states' rights and entitlements for the less wealthy. But states' rights is only a mask: The real center of conflict has always been power and control, the entitlements of the most wealthy versus the entitlements of the less wealthy. And it is clear from the various reports and studies of the growing financial gap between the most and least wealthy that the entitled wealthy are winning the battle. In Utah in the past decade, the bottom 20 percent income dropped by about 11 percent, the middle 20 percent gained about 2 percent, and the top 5 percent income rose by about 10 percent. And during the great recession, while most of the people in the world lost wealth and income, the top 5 percent actually increased their wealth and income.
When you understand that power and control are the major factors, it is easier to understand why there is so much pressure to reduce Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits for the poor and less wealthy, rather than increasing taxes and/or reducing tax breaks for the entitled upper class.
Fred Ash
Sandy