Warren Buffett stated his staff pay a higher percentage of taxes then he does, "I have never had it so good ... I don't pay hardly any payroll taxes ... Gov. Romney hardly pays any payroll taxes ... Newt Gingrich hardly pays any payroll taxes. Debbie pays lots of payroll taxes ... If this is a war, my side has the nuclear bomb".

The practice of "trickle up" economics has nearly decimated the middle class, which comprises 60 percent of the population. Middle-income families have earned only 11 percent more in 2010 than they did in 1980 while the richest 5 percent in America saw their incomes rise 42 percent (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). In addition, the top 1percent saw their wealth grow more than 275 percent from 1997 to 2007, while the income of the bottom 20 percent grew by only 18 percent. The largest decline in income was experienced by young working Americans, ages 15-24, who saw their wages regress by 9 percent in 2010.

As a result of failed political and economic policy that ensures prosperity for a few at the expense of the many, a record number of Americans, nearly 1 in 2, now live in poverty or are classified as low income. It's hard to comprehend the insanity of it all.

Melissa Souza, Kennewick