As we face an unprecedented economic and health crisis that threatens our way of life and our very survival, where is the “free market” in our time of need? The “free market” is panicking, with historic declines in stocks and devoid of any solutions.
The corporations, who received large tax breaks and squandered it by further enriching their CEOs and shareholders, are begging again for welfare in the form a bail out from the taxpayers and
government because they did not save for a rainy day. Most alarmingly, we have our leader and his ideologues creating an abhorrent false choice between opening up the economy and the health and safety of our loved ones. Basically, we are supposed to put our lives at risk for the stock portfolios of the wealthy.
What we need right now is government and science to save us. For far too long, we divested from government and only valued science as a means to make a profit. If we look back on history,
government and science, not corporations, brought about scientific and social advancements that benefitted us all. For example, the research to eradicate polio was in part publicly funded and the federal government put people back to work after the Great Depression, restoring their dignity with a 40-hour work week and minimum wage. Now, more than ever, we need government and science to contain this pandemic, its economic fallout, and develop treatments and vaccines.
Next time you vote, consider which candidates call for less government and lower taxes for the wealthy (Gianforte and Daines). All those “high paying” jobs that they promise never seem to arrive, yet we continuously are stuck with an underprepared government and science that only works for a few.
Ken Silvestri
Bozeman
Bozeman Daily Chronicle Letter to the Editor April 1, 2020