I have stood in parks where children laughed under streetlights, safe and free. I’ve walked downtown plazas alive with music, boarded spotless subways arriving to the second, saw maglev trains over 600 mph and visited schools with the latest technology. I saw a people happy and proud of their country. It wasn’t a dream. It was China.
Then I came home to shootings in parks, playgrounds empty after dark, bridges rotting, schools with ceilings leaking onto desks and an explosion at the Clairton coke plant.
The problem isn’t China. It’s us, distracted by petty culture wars. We believe the lie that we can’t afford better public amenities.
We can. The top 5% hold $100 trillion — nearly two-thirds of America’s wealth — yet pay an average 21% effective tax rate. In China, the wealthy pay up to 45%. If America taxed its richest like China, we could erase the deficit in a year, rebuild schools, repair infrastructure, make parks safe again.
Instead, we argue over immigration, bathrooms, who plays Snow White or an American Eagle jeans ad — distractions meant to keep us from demanding change.
It is time to recognize the real enemy: those who profit from keeping us divided and our nation in decline. Stand together. Call, don’t write, your representatives! Demand better!
The American Dream is possible — China is proving it. We have the power to make it real. Refuse the circus — fight for an America worthy of our children.
William Werts Jr.
Bridgeville