In a short couple of months, the Trump administration has weakened the economy, placed incompetents in top government positions, fired or bought out 100,000 experienced federal employees, alienated our allies, dishonored our commitment to Ukraine, arrested legal Green Card holders and threatened the free press.

And they seem to be just getting started.

We elected them to bring down the cost of groceries and make housing affordable again. 

They could not care less about those issues. 

Their sole interest seems to be in consolidating power in this particular president so that his whims can translate into policy at the expense of ordinary Americans.

If Democrats cannot run against all of this, they should dissolve the party and find another profession.

But, so far, our Democratic friends have been unable to articulate what needs to be done. It should not be that difficult.

First of all, Democrats need to fight the incredible income and wealth inequality in America.

America has the highest level of inequality in the developed world but for Chile (Pew Research). 

Simply said, the richest among us are sucking the blood out of the economy. The top 10 percent of Americans control 70 percent of the nations’ wealth, and that disparity is rising not falling.

For starters then, Democrats need to create fairer taxation, making the wealthiest among us pay their fair share. And our mega corporations need to pay their share for the infrastructure the citizens provide them. Their tax rates need to significantly increase.

Why does any group have to pay more? Because our current leaders, the Trump administration and the Republican Party, tell us we cannot afford Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid. 

They tell us we need that money to cut taxes on the richest families and the largest corporations, and on funding the endlessly growing Department of Defense.

But here is the truth, after attacking income inequality, Democrats need to provide security for American families, so they know they can always afford health care in the wealthiest nation on the planet. 

Democrats need to end the minimum wage and force employers to pay a living wage. No one working full time should have to apply for welfare or seek food from the local food bank.

Then the Democrats need to fix unemployment, so when workers are transitioning from one job or one career to another, they do so within a social safety net that allows them to feel safe during change.

Social benefits need to stop punishing families with low income for their savings. Currently both SNAP and TANF must deny benefits until families are virtually penniless. 

In housing, Democrats need to open up federal lands to the development of affordable housing, re-zone city land specifically to be developed for affordable housing, and supplement down payment funding for first time home buyers.

Education and skills training needs to be affordable for everyone with access in every community. The Department of Education needs to be expanded, not eviscerated. 

Most importantly, Democrats must stop the lean into hatred of “The Other” and embrace the virtues of compassion, care, and empathy, re-building our society in the shadow of our once great nation that stood as a beacon to the world.

We are a better people than this current cast of zero-sum devotees ensconced in the White House and the halls of Congress.

We The People deserve better from our leaders and, by now, it is clear that Republicans cannot, or will not lead us forward. It remains unclear if Democrats will lead us back to the American Dream.

Jim Crawford is a retired educator and political enthusiast living here in the Tri-State.