Every election cycle, Americans are pulled into the same argument.
Democrats say the rich are not paying enough.
Republicans say working families, businesses, and taxpayers are already paying too much.
One side points upward at billionaires. The other points toward government spending. Meanwhile, ordinary Americans are placed in the middle, arguing with each other over who should carry the burden.
But there is a bigger question we are not asking often enough:
Where does all of this money ultimately go, and who benefits from keeping Americans divided over it?
I am a Democrat, and I am willing to criticize my own party when I believe we are getting something wrong. I do not believe good government is created by simply finding another group of Americans to punish financially.
If someone becomes successful, government should not automatically treat that success like a crime. At the same time, if somebody is struggling financially, government should not create fines, fees, penalties, interest charges, court costs, or policies that make poverty even more expensive.
That is where I believe both parties have failed.
Too often, Democrats frame the solution as taking more from wealthy Americans.
Too often, Republicans defend systems that can place a heavier practical burden on workers and middle-class families through consumption taxes, fees, reduced services, or other costs.
And while everybody argues, the government continues collecting.
The political machine continues operating.
Consultants get paid. Contractors get paid. Agencies grow. Lobbyists maintain influence. Political organizations raise money. Elected officials build careers around problems that never seem to disappear.
That is why I call the system a racket.
Not because every public employee is corrupt. Not because every Democrat or Republican is dishonest. There are good people in both parties.
The problem is the incentive structure.
A political system survives by convincing Americans that their neighbor is the enemy.
The wealthy are told the poor want their money.
The poor are told the wealthy are responsible for everything wrong with the country.
The middle class gets squeezed between both arguments.
Republican voters blame Democratic voters.
Democratic voters blame Republican voters.
And Washington remains Washington.
The American people should recognize something: Democrats and Republicans who live in our communities have much more in common with one another than they do with the political machinery that profits from keeping them divided.
Most Americans want the same fundamental things.
They want to work.
They want to provide for their families.
They want affordable housing.
They want safe communities.
They want opportunities for their children.
They want to keep more of what they earn.
They want government to work when they need it and stay out of their way when they do not.
That should not be a Republican idea or a Democratic idea.
That should be an American idea.
If I become President of the United States, my goal will not be to build a government that decides one group deserves punishment because they have too much money and another group deserves punishment because they have too little.
I want to change the philosophy behind the system itself.
Government taxation should have a legitimate public purpose. It should be transparent. Americans should be able to see where their money is going and what they are receiving in return.
Government should not create financial traps that disproportionately hurt people who are already struggling.
And government should not assume that simply increasing someone's tax burden is automatically good policy merely because that person has become financially successful.
Success should not make you an enemy of your country.
Poverty should not make you a source of revenue for your government.
The question should always be whether a policy is fair, constitutional, economically sound, and genuinely beneficial to the American people.
I am not interested in becoming President so I can pick winners and losers.
I am interested in changing a system that has spent generations teaching Americans to fight each other while institutions continue collecting money and power in the background.
The next political revolution in America should not be rich against poor.
It should not be Democrat against Republican.
It should be the American people demanding accountability from the government that works for them.
Because regardless of how much money you have in your bank account, government should never forget one fundamental principle:
The people do not exist to serve the system.
The system exists to serve the people.
— John Washington III 2028 Candidate for President of the United States
Be the first person to comment.