And truly, what a mess it 'tis! Instead of looking forward, we are dealing with what was. There is not a memory I carry that reminds me of a presidential changeover so controversial as this one is. I am used to old presidents fading away once we have chewed them up and spit them out. I never thought that my quandary about President Clinton not quietly and graciously exiting his office would come to pass. That gives me the courage to write about where we're at and where we might be going.

I'm not embarrassed to tell you that, for the first time in my life, I don't hold any hope for our financial future. The beginning of this administration reminds me of the bleak years of Reaganism, the eighties. Those were the years that sealed the fate of my economic level. The middle class of America was squeezed out and had disappeared before my very eyes. Those in the wealthy strata of our economy became richer and the lower economic level, through government sponsored programs, were elevated. All at the cost of the middle class, the backbone then of our country's economy, the place where most people strived to be in their dreams of getting ahead. I had enjoyed being in the middle strata of my society. It had given me a life style and the stability that I needed, without suffering the everyday pressures of maintenance. At least it was somewhere to be, not like today, where, as I see it, there are limited places to go. We are now a quadruple economic society -- the poor, near poor, near rich or rich!

Adding insult to injury, the stock market had drop, after sucking in hoards of investors, like now. Then the inflationary period dug it's heels into our economy, like now. And, like now, thousands of non-500 companies had collapsed. And, like the auto industry, I watched my own industry disintegrate, its viable presence in the world economy a dim shadow of its former self. Yes, like the auto industry, foreign imports had crushed us and destroyed our livelihood.

The dye has been cast and, after eight, short years of hard fought for economic recovery, all of those declining signs again are here. I would be remiss in not being proactive this time and allowing it all to slide by without taking evasive action in my everyday life and without offering an utterance of protest. In putting forth my verbal frustrations, I hope that I speak for the majority of people in my same situation. If for nothing else, at least my issue can look back and say: "Ah, she saw what was happening."

EDITOR'S NOTE:
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