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I Can Do Simple Math

A small town in Ohio had a steel mill that once employed twelve thousand people. Now the company employs 900. Meanwhile, the makers of epi-pens jacked up the price from about 5 bucks to over 600, because they can. Don't talk to me about socialism; if you don't have an ethics that says these things aren't right, your opinions about the excesses of totalitarianism don't matter much to me.

People wonder why Bernie Sanders is so popular.

We can argue about the prudence or not of particular actions after we recognize and establish the dignity of every human person. I can recall a young Senator who spoke eloquently of two Americas, one for the rich, and one for the poor, lamenting this reality. He also warned of the dangers of state socialism. His ethics may have been faulty in other areas, but he was right on both counts.

If there is anything good in a new nationalism, it must begin with the dignity of the person, and the dignity of work. Though peaceful global relations are a high priority, the only people for whom American politicians are directly responsible are Americans. The lot of them would do well to think about what makes for a healthy community, and then do that, instead of chasing an economic indicator.
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