Rekindling the American Dream For All of Us
By James M. O’Brien - 29 August 2026
America is made up of the “Uber-Rich” and “Ordinary Americans.” The Uber-Rich are the top 1%: they are billionaires and multi-millionaires who own 31% of the country’s net worth. Ordinary Americans are the remaining 99% (e.g., wage earners, small business owners, farmers, retirees) who collectively own 69% of the country’s net worth.
Ordinary Americans are struggling with constricting job opportunities and increasing cost of living. The American Dream seemingly has passed them by. Ordinary Americans should vote in the 2026 and 2028 elections based on which political party is more likely to improve their economic lot.
Since 2008, Democrats have held the Presidency twelve years (Obama 2009-2017, Biden 2021-2025) and Republicans six years (Trump 2017-2021 & 2025-2029). History provides strong evidence of each party’s performance on the economics issue.
Recent Democratic Administrations have pursued policies that directly benefit Ordinary Americans. Obama enacted the Affordable Care Act which expanded health care coverage, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to rebuild the economy after the Great Recession (2007-2009). Obama made investments in renewable energy and environmental clean-up. He negotiated a long-term nuclear agreement with Iran.
Biden enacted the American Recovery Act providing extraordinary financial support to troubled businesses and the unemployed during the COVID crisis, and multiple infrastructure investment acts which underlie many of the infrastructure projects we see in process today. Biden funded semiconductor research and manufacturing. He ended the forever war in Afghanistan.
Jobs grew by 11.6 million and 16.1 million under Obama and Biden. Both took actions to make Ordinary Americans’ cost of living more affordable.
In contrast, Trump’s two Administrations have invested heavily in the Uber-Rich. Who would have thought the Uber Rich needed government aid! Nevertheless, Trump’s signature legislation, the 2017 and 2025 tax acts, substantially reduced taxes on the Uber-Rich. As offsets, the Republicans cut many social welfare programs relied on by Ordinary Americans, including Medicaid ($1 trillion), health care subsidies ($194 billion) and SNAP food stamps ($186 billion). While the Uber-Rich (including Trump) got richer, Ordinary Americans just got stiffed. Trump’s tariffs only aggravated the cost of living. In 2018, Trump terminated Obama’s nuclear agreement and in 2026 launched a costly forever war with Iran.
During Trump’s first term, net jobs declined by 2.1 million (due to the COVID epidemic) and have increased by only 716,000 jobs midway through his second term. Trump mocks Ordinary Americans’ “affordability” concerns at campaign rallies. While Ordinary Americans struggle economically, Trump wastes over a billion dollars on vanity projects (e.g., the White House Ballroom)
I encourage everyone to vote this fall, while you still can (given Trump’s voter suppression putsch). History shows that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to prioritize and support Ordinary Americans. I personally will go with the party that does the greatest good for the greatest number. Rekindling the American Dream for all Americans requires a change in the control of Congress in 2026 and the Presidency in 2028.
James M. O'Brien
Eden
By James M. O’Brien - 29 August 2026
America is made up of the “Uber-Rich” and “Ordinary Americans.” The Uber-Rich are the top 1%: they are billionaires and multi-millionaires who own 31% of the country’s net worth. Ordinary Americans are the remaining 99% (e.g., wage earners, small business owners, farmers, retirees) who collectively own 69% of the country’s net worth.
Ordinary Americans are struggling with constricting job opportunities and increasing cost of living. The American Dream seemingly has passed them by. Ordinary Americans should vote in the 2026 and 2028 elections based on which political party is more likely to improve their economic lot.
Since 2008, Democrats have held the Presidency twelve years (Obama 2009-2017, Biden 2021-2025) and Republicans six years (Trump 2017-2021 & 2025-2029). History provides strong evidence of each party’s performance on the economics issue.
Recent Democratic Administrations have pursued policies that directly benefit Ordinary Americans. Obama enacted the Affordable Care Act which expanded health care coverage, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to rebuild the economy after the Great Recession (2007-2009). Obama made investments in renewable energy and environmental clean-up. He negotiated a long-term nuclear agreement with Iran.
Biden enacted the American Recovery Act providing extraordinary financial support to troubled businesses and the unemployed during the COVID crisis, and multiple infrastructure investment acts which underlie many of the infrastructure projects we see in process today. Biden funded semiconductor research and manufacturing. He ended the forever war in Afghanistan.
Jobs grew by 11.6 million and 16.1 million under Obama and Biden. Both took actions to make Ordinary Americans’ cost of living more affordable.
In contrast, Trump’s two Administrations have invested heavily in the Uber-Rich. Who would have thought the Uber Rich needed government aid! Nevertheless, Trump’s signature legislation, the 2017 and 2025 tax acts, substantially reduced taxes on the Uber-Rich. As offsets, the Republicans cut many social welfare programs relied on by Ordinary Americans, including Medicaid ($1 trillion), health care subsidies ($194 billion) and SNAP food stamps ($186 billion). While the Uber-Rich (including Trump) got richer, Ordinary Americans just got stiffed. Trump’s tariffs only aggravated the cost of living. In 2018, Trump terminated Obama’s nuclear agreement and in 2026 launched a costly forever war with Iran.
During Trump’s first term, net jobs declined by 2.1 million (due to the COVID epidemic) and have increased by only 716,000 jobs midway through his second term. Trump mocks Ordinary Americans’ “affordability” concerns at campaign rallies. While Ordinary Americans struggle economically, Trump wastes over a billion dollars on vanity projects (e.g., the White House Ballroom)
I encourage everyone to vote this fall, while you still can (given Trump’s voter suppression putsch). History shows that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to prioritize and support Ordinary Americans. I personally will go with the party that does the greatest good for the greatest number. Rekindling the American Dream for all Americans requires a change in the control of Congress in 2026 and the Presidency in 2028.
James M. O'Brien
Eden