President Trump admits it is necessary for Americans to go through a tough time prior to his promised dawn of prosperity. For him, born to affluence, a tough time means cringing when you see your portfolio shrink today, but knowing it will bounce back soon.
But he knows nothing of the lives of the lower class, the group that includes most of our citizens, even many of those who wore MAGA hats and voted for him.
There are citizens in this group whose jobs are poorly paid, without benefits and never secure. These are families who live paycheck to paycheck, lucky if they can just keep up, but often being pushed into the red by car repair or any unexpected expense.
It is not possible for him to grasp the reality of their lives, of first paying bills and then writing a list to buy groceries with what money is left over. For a man who has never missed a meal or even shopped for and prepared his own meals, “groceries” are “things in a bag.”
When he envisions financial hardship for people in this class, he jokes that a child will get one doll instead of 30. In reality that child may get one meal a day instead of three — and no dolls.
Linda Rose Dupree
Swissvale