The Doctor
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"The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we'll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on. " - Warren Buffet
A reluctant young man entered the room. He inched his way past the door, and into the large room. A deep voice bellowed, in an inviting tone. "Ah yes, we've been expecting you. Come in; have a seat." He did as the voice told him. He took a seat, in one of the several large chairs that were strung around a table, set in the middle of the room, specifically made round in order to intimidate all those who enter.
The young man began to open his mouth, but as soon as he began speaking, a light, the brightest he had ever been exposed to, shone down onto his face, blinding him momentarily. This quickly silenced him. "It is time, my child. Your time will end, and with this, things will return to how they once were." The young man quickly let out a quiet, "I'm sorry," as he disappeared.
FIVE YEARS EARLIER
"Joshua, dinner is ready!" Mother beckoned. It was the same tonight, as it was every night; beans and a side of mashed potatoes. "Mother, why do we never have nights out, like Michael's family?" Joshua asked. After an awkward silence, the only answer that could be given was, "We simply can't afford them. You know your father does his best but... we just don't have the money. Okay?" Mother sounded stern. As if she had been irritated.
A noise could be heard outside. It was father, with his loud car. He had gotten home early, it was only 9:30. Joshua quickly ran to the door, and unlocked it. Father walked in, in his work clothes, still stained with oil from the shop where he worked. Greeted with cold smiles, he sat down at the table, and smiled back. They chewed on their food, trying to ignore the facts in front of them.
There was tension in the air. Nobody would admit it, but things weren't going well. Everyone could see it, their neighbors, their friends, and their co-workers all knew, but they never said anything. Things were going south, fast. Suddenly shops were closing, small restaurants being sold to larger food chains, others slowly going insane with the madness that is every day life. The rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. Then endless cycle continued. Everyone tried to ignore the facts in front of them. They were constantly lied to by richer politicians. "The economy will get better if we just continue the way we are!" they all said. They all lied. Even education, the one thing that could save this economy, this country, this world, was lost. Taxes couldn't pay for public education, so schools all across the nation were closed down. The only things left were overcrowded public schools, serving 70 children per class, and private education, and we all know how that works out.
You would see a upper middle-class family, one that could sustain themselves for years, just "move west." In Joshua's class, they would talk about it all the time. "Did you hear about Mary moving west?" "Yeah, but I never thought it would turn out like that!" The west didn't exist. The west was a made up place, where you could get a job whenever. It was a fairy tale that we stopped believing in at the same time as Santa Claus. Every time you heard about the move, you always died a little inside. There was always that element of suspense. You always thought that you would be next.
Joshua recognized this, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that it would happen to his family. "How was work today, Mark?" Mother asked in a soft voice. "The shop didn't make anything today.. like usual. I swear, this damn economy is going to be the death of us." He was joking, but they all cringed.
They all knew, that one day, everything would be taken from them.
"This country pays a price whenever our economy fails to deliver rising living standards to our citizens - which is exactly what has been the case for years now. We pay a price when our political system cannot come together and agree on the difficult but necessary steps to rein in entitlement spending or reform our tax system." - Chris Christie
