Dialogue 17 – Politics

“I can’t believe some of the people running for president,” she said.   “They just don’t seem to understand what this country stands for.”

“What makes you say that,” he said.  “The ones who have announced seem to know what they want.  They want change.”

“But, what kind of change?” she asked.  “They seem to want to dump everything we worked for and replace it with  – I don’t know what.  But, it isn’t good for us.  What makes them think they can get elected in the first place?”

“Well, they think that if Donald Trump could be elected president, then anyone could be president – even them,” he said. “And, what makes you think that change would be bad for us?”

“They want to give everybody everything.  They want free health care, free college tuition, free food for everyone and a free car for everyone.   Well, OK, maybe not a free car for everyone, but they want to give everything to people who can’t afford it.”

“And, you find that bad?” he asked.

“Yes, who’s going to pay for it?  You and I and all of our friends who have worked so hard for so long just to have the little bit we have.  They’re going to take away our savings by taxing it and raising taxes on everything else.  Do you think that’s right?”

“Of course not,” he said.  “They’re just appealing to their base of political support.  Once they get elected, they’ll mellow and move to the middle.”

“That’s what they said about Trump, and he’s still pushing his conservative business agenda.  He didn’t move to the middle.”

“You’ve got a point,” he said