As Americans, we the people, continue to be  troubled by an array of challenges facing our nation and the failure of the political system to address them. Trust in our governing institutions has reached historic lows as Congress’ approval ratings sinks into the single digits. The legitimacy of the Supreme Court is increasingly questioned. Gridlock and hyper-partisanship have paralyzed our governing bodies, resulting in the least productive Congress in recent history and a political climate that makes problem solving all but impossible. The public’s voice is drowned out as political leaders become ever-more dependent on a relatively small group of large donors and special interests. A growing number of Americans are becoming alienated from the political process. 

As a nation we the people are facing major challenges that our political representatives fail to address adequately:

A few of the symptoms of the pathology of the current US political system.

• Distrust and alienation from the federal government and the toxic political process

• The fiscal health of the nation: The budget, debt and deficit

• Unfairness of the tax system: tax code of 64, 000 pages

• Inequality of opportunity, income, wealth and employment

• An unjust, dysfunctional and expensive healthcare system

• An out of control legal system, police and prison system

• Failure to respond to climate change

• The surveillance state: Privacy and dignity under assault by government and corporations

• A decaying infrastructure of roads, and bridges

• A declining public educational system out of reach for many Americans