Jeffrey Sachs, Professor of Economics at Columbia University: America in Decline; Congress Represents Big Interests

Is The U.S. becoming more like a third world banana republic?

From Yahoo finance:

Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University, agrees, but says President Obama is part of the problem, too, because of his failure to lead on budget issues.

“What they are doing is taking cuts out of the hide of the poorest people in this country….[leaving] those who have massive wealth completely unscathed,” he says. “It is all a game for next year’s campaign financing: In other words, don’t touch the big boys, they got to pay for your campaign.”

“There is such a disconnect between what the American people say, and what Washington does, you wonder if this is a democracy,” Sachs says. “The American people say 'get out of Afghanistan, stop wasting money on the military, raise taxes on the rich and [opt for a] public option on health care.' Of course, the interests, the powers that be oppose all of that.”

“I think we are in a decline because our political class is so dishonest right now and so disconnected from American values that we are not finding a way forward,” says Sachs. “In the long-term America will continue in decline as long as we play these games.”

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