1. United States
2. Letter

Good morning! It’s another bright and beautiful day in the wealthiest free country in the world! Oh. Wait. Wealthy? No. Free? Only if we can afford it. We cannot afford groceries. We cannot afford to feed the hungry. We cannot afford to house the unhoused. We’ve actually allowed Louisiana a way to turn vagrancy into felonies and acquire free state labor because we can’t afford to pay people. We cannot afford education. We cannot afford social services. We cannot afford veteran services. We cannot afford gas. We cannot afford clean energy. We cannot afford mandatory postpartum leave. We cannot afford paternity leave. We cannot afford mandatory sick time. We cannot afford a livable minimum wage. We cannot afford universal healthcare even though we pay for Israelis to have it. We cannot afford mental healthcare. In fact, you hear you all explain it, we cannot afford ANYTHING! And yet… We CAN afford a war in Iran. We CAN afford a blockade at the strait of Hermuz. We CAN afford a blockade and embargo on Cuba. We CAN afford missiles for the cartel (it was actually for innocent farmers) in Ecuador. We CAN afford a 250 statue garden for Trump. We CAN afford to refurbish the White House. We CAN afford private planes for the inner sanctum of the administration. We CAN afford hundreds of thousands of dollars of lobster. We CAN afford private flights to Kid Rock’s house. We CAN afford to make movies for Kid Rock’s concerts starring military officers and Black Hawk helicopters. We CAN afford a love nest for the former secretary of ICE. We CAN afford a ballroom. It’s weird, isn’t it? We can afford all sorts of things that benefit you and your cronies, but absolutely NOTHING that supports the people that put you all in your positions. And we have a Congress who, in their silence, condone this behavior. And we can’t afford that anymore. We can’t afford YOU anymore!