This is particularly true of Healthcare & Big Pharma, Food & Agriculture, the Military Industrial Complex, and several environmentally challenged industries like Chemicals and Mining (not to pick on anyone’s livelihood; Lord knows Wall Street takes the cake). They are the controllers and beneficiaries; we are the serfs. The real heroes- tens of thousands of frontline doctors and nurses- are treated like pawns by those in the ivory towers.

Most importantly, though, the government agencies (NIH, CDC, FDA, HHS) that are entrusted with protecting you and me (and our children) from the potentially harmful impact of these industries are actually rubber-stamping their practices instead. So long as that profit spigot is protected, the American public is paying the price. A portion of our startling decline in lifespan nationally (over 2 1/2 years just since 2019) can be attributed to drugs like fentanyl, but it is much more than that. For their complicit efforts, top agency officials often have a cushy board seat or executive position awaiting them in the private sector.

The rise in cancers is staggering, along with chronic disease of all types, especially in our youth. We all know of some new healthcare facility, hospital, or outpatient center in our neighborhood that is being erected at this moment, while a community mom and pop shuts its doors forever. Those two events are directly correlated. The threat is becoming existential to society. To give you an idea of the numbers as they relate to children today *:

4 in 10 kids with Depression
1 in 5 kids with Obesity
1 in 5 kids with Suicidal Thoughts
1 in 6 kids with Developmental Disorders
1 in 10 kids with Anxiety
1 in 10 kids with ADHD
1 in 12 kids with Asthma
1 in 13 kids with Food Allergies
1 in 44 kids with Autism
1 in 285 kids with Cancer by Age 20

The causes of our sickening health trends are environmental, not genetic. There are a finite number of possibilities. Covid-19 was a factor for a time, but other countries have rebounded rather well. Not the United States, though. We need someone to get to the bottom of this, and soon. Should we all just say “It’s okay, there’s a pill for that?” You have heard me refer to “Bedford Falls became Pottersville”. Well, this is a perfect example.

For over a year, I have spent many hundreds of weekend hours researching this and related topics. It can get political at times, though I have only sought the truth and to get to the bottom of it all. This is not a Left or Right issue. It is a HUMAN issue. Unfortunately, many folks I encounter are rooted in deeply conditioned tribalist thinking, often without realizing it. No new information can seemingly get in. This is not a function of one’s education or intelligence, nor is it more prevalent on one side of the political aisle. It is, I believe, a function of fear, and perhaps laziness. People who see themselves as intelligent often neglect to learn. 

There is an additional issue here- an economic issue. About 19% (and growing) of our economy as measured by GDP (Gross Domestic Product) relates directly to healthcare spending. That is literally double the percentage of any other industrialized nation on earth. Yes, we are paying twice as much to die sooner. One could be forgiven for thinking that the Healthcare industry and its Government agencies, perhaps in collusion with Food and Agriculture, are happy with the trends. After all, sickness is a much bigger business than wellness. As these trends magnify, government debt explodes commensurately- another manifestation of the public being herded like cattle into the pit of economic despair. In other words, we can no longer financially afford to subsidize corporate profits, so we are doing it with our bodies instead. Economically, ‘growth’ has not been rooted so much in true capital, but rather in debt. That is UN-healthy at every level! And the greater our debt, the worse our health outcomes become.

One of my ongoing questions is: Why isn’t ALL food, always and everywhere, organic? I ask because it seems that the envelope has been pushed very far on how toxic the world can become for the sake of a company’s bottom line. For example, if lowering costs of farming by using Roundup on crops saves costs for corporations and enhances their bottom line, then using MORE Roundup will lead to even greater profits. Farmers are being threatened and intimidated by these companies to force them to use their products. They use their ‘scale’ to twist the arm of the average farmer. This leads to greater bonuses and stock options for the mega-corp execs. All that is needed is a complicit regulator. We can now check that box, too. Going back a generation, and to an even greater degree in the last 15 years, the agencies have at best turned a blind eye, and at worst have out-and-out supported policies that harm American citizens. 

It is hard to consider this word, but much of what is happening does fit the definition of ‘Fascism’. That is what the history books, if they’re allowed to be printed, will say. 

Human beings will put up with a lot. Most will even live in denial about the realities we face. I might do that too, if not for my children and for all of yours. This insanity has to stop. Having the will as a people to say ENOUGH does have implications. Yes, GDP would take a hit. Our economy and stock markets might take a hit, too, if only temporarily. That SHOULD happen, as stock profits are no substitute for human life. And lower asset prices mean that younger people might one day be able to afford a home. But our very powerful government forces can continue to manipulate the money supply all they want. This means asset prices can remain high in ‘nominal’ terms, but in REAL terms prices would wither away through inflation. As we know, actual Inflation is much higher than reported.

Now for the good news. I believe there is a solution to this, but we must get past the boxing ring of conflict that has come to define America, and then rise above it. My suggestion does enter the realm of politics, because nothing will change if the political will is not there. It is critical to understand that RFK Jr., a man who stands like David against the Goliath of this corporate/agency machine and all its propaganda, is the ONLY candidate ready to take this issue head on. He is the ONLY candidate who has spent decades fighting for ordinary Americans, and he is the ONLY candidate who is Independent enough to make the necessary changes. For this and many other reasons, my support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. runs very deep.

And please refer back to the chart at the top. The evidence is becoming quite clear. It is only when the people stand up that things begin to change. Corporate capture of government exists on both sides of our two-party system. Time is running out to avoid outright Fascism.

With Love, Paul