I had a great childhood, my parents were gainfully employed up until my senior year then the "NEW WORLD" economy started to settle in as their jobs moved to Mexico back in 1982. When I say they were gainfully employed I mean they were working for a manufacturing firm that designed and built electronics right here in Tennessee, and they were paid a stable income with longevity bonuses with benefits such as health care and vacations.

Since they were long time employees they received long summer vacations some times as long as six weeks, in which I was a part of. We would set out to see America because fuel was cheap and time was long.

I ponder at times if that last glimmer of American prosperity was the last my eyes will see. I worry that my children will never see that kind of comfort. They have never seen a summer vacation of weeks on a road trip or an extended camping excursion with their parents. My kids parents divorced while they were fairly young and neither have they had a father that lived with them every day that they can remember. Their mom barley makes enough to clear each month and dad is the same and yet in separate homes they witness first hand struggles of parents not having resources to make the rent or anything easily. I don't think I considered money shortages as a young child. I remember doing things to make some cash that I could completely control at about 12 years old on, but there was never a problem with my folks chucking out the dough to send me on a field trip with school, paying my lunch card well in advance, buying me a class ring, or renting me a tux for the prom. My kids have to do without vacations, extra trips with school and even shortages in lunch monies.

I would like a little truth before I die. Was the implosion of our country caused by too many middle class people or was it the controlling few, hungry for too much too fast? I know it is far more complex than I am able to comprehend, but there must be some truth reveled to not make matters worse.

caint say whuther i kin eggsplain whut happend, but tiz innerestin that the grate disparity of wealth begun under ronald raygun, whenever he begun his trickle down economicks. twuz spozed to make more jobs n it did, only thay wuz jobs whar the wurker wudnt paid nor perteckted near as much as they are here. tiz my bleef that the only thang that trickled down on the middle class wuz the debt frum the borry n spend years of them publicans. ifn ye git moren n more billyunaires, that means ye gut 1 million folks that has $1,000 less fer ever billyun fer ever billyunair. ye caint concentrate wealth in one group without robbin it frum everbidy else. n thats whut dunnit, in my pinion.