The Cafe' [Think Tank]

Recently, I interviewed several people about the current political climate, and what I found was both revealing and perplexing. Most of them believed that Donald Trump was trying to become a dictator and that he planned to cut all entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, WIC, welfare, and disability. I shared my own experience from a town hall meeting with Senator Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, where they had stirred fear among seniors about potentially losing their Social Security and Medicare benefits. The room was filled with anxiety — people truly believed they were under threat. But the truth is, Trump has talked about raising Social Security benefits. When I reminded them that some seniors had already received raises, they acknowledged it — then quickly shifted to immigration. “Yeah, and he wants to go after illegals!” one said. “He’s illegal himself — he should deport himself!” I corrected them: “Trump was born here. His parents were immigrants, yes, but he...

The Founding Fathers never intended for America to become a purely capitalist nation , because unchecked capitalism puts profits before people . Their vision was for a republic rooted in liberty, fairness, and opportunity — not a marketplace where human value is measured by profit margins. They believed that commerce should serve the people, not control them. What we call “capitalism” today has drifted far from that founding vision; it rewards speculation over service and global control over local prosperity. America’s economy was meant to empower citizens — not enslave them to corporations nor foreign interests. Democracy , at its core, is a system of government where power resides with the people — exercised either directly or through freely elected representatives. In a truly democratic society, the economy should reflect that same principle of shared empowerment.  A bottom-up economic system seeks to do just that by strengthening working families, small businesses, and local c...