Washington's Fiscal Policies Are Widening the Wealth Gap, Says Republican Veteran

Drawing on his grandparents' experience fleeing war and confiscation, the author argues that today’s American middle class faces a similar crisis created by Washington’s fiscal choices. Federal Reserve figures reveal the richest 1 percent control nearly a third of the nation’s wealth, while the poorest 50 percent own just 2.5 percent. This gap widened as the government ran deficits exceeding $1.33 for every dollar collected, prompting the Fed to inject trillions through quantitative easing, inflating the M2 money supply by roughly 40 percent in two years.

The new money first boosted asset prices, leaving wage earners behind, and unlimited federal student loans have driven tuition to rise more than fourfold, creating $1.65 trillion in debt. The author cites former Joint Chiefs chairman Michael Mullen’s warning that debt endangers security and proposes a new “Contract for America” featuring a fixed-timeline balanced budget, Fed balance-sheet reduction, housing deregulation and shared liability for college loans. He argues that short-term pain could restore a robust middle class, as historical examples from post-war America, Germany and Canada demonstrate.