To the Editor:

Why doesn’t the richest country in the world take the best care of its children? Why don’t American children have the best food, best healthcare, best education, best opportunities for success?

Instead, the richest country on earth has the second-highest child poverty rate among 36 comparable countries. That’s just one better than worst.

In terms of healthcare, America ranks 31 out of 36- five places above worst.

Half a century ago, public education in America ranked first in the world. Today, it is no better than 26.

How did America’s children become such a low priority that the richest country stopped investing in their future?

Over the past 50 years, the U.S. has created eye-popping wealth in a tiny percent of our population. Big success creating billionaires! In that same period, manager pay has increased 1,000% while too many workers incomes have barely risen 24% versus an exponential rise in the cost of living.

Sounds like a recipe for creating poverty, not prosperity in this country. Who thought up that idea and who voted for it?

The United States will probably create the first trillionaire, while up to 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Welcome to capitalist feudalism.

American priorities will be on full display when Republicans reveal their budget in upcoming weeks. First and foremost, spending will benefit the billionaire class as pay back for purchasing our federal government on the last election.

Republicans will lie about the cost of welfare for the wealthy, which will increase our unsustainable national debt that is only scary when Democrats are in power.

In a fit of (pretend) fiscal responsibility, they will gut food, healthcare, climate, and education programs for America’s poorest and most vulnerable, particularly children.

Republicans only prioritize children when they are molecules in the womb. Once born, children can starve, drink poison water, never see a doctor, live in violence, attend pathetically underfunded schools, overdose on drugs, and and inhabit private prison cells some states are obligated to keep 95% full.

They will, of course, claim they’re cutting waste and fraud but never provide a shred of evidence to support such claims. They never provide proof of any claim they make, and yet people continue to vote for the lies and deception.

Every elected Republican, with no discernible spine or conscience, will repeat every lie they are told to repeat then vote to pass another pro-billionaire budget into law.

America will get what it voted for, the same old priorities that started 50 years ago and show no sign of changing.

Maybe when child wellbeing in the United States is so poor we have to compare ourselves to third-world countries, Americans will stop voting for billionaire bonuses. But I’m not holding my breath.

Jane Barrett

Potsdam