For the sake of argument, let’s assume that your family’s wealth is roughly average, which means that you’re worth about $1 million, a big jump from 2019. “Both median and average family net worth surged between 2019 and 2022, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. Average net worth increased by 23% to $1,063,700, the Fed reported in October 2023, the most recent year it published the data. Median net worth, on the other hand, rose 37% over that same period to $192,900.”
So if you are the average American, you are a millionaire, but before you get too excited, you are worth roughly 1/600,000 of what Elon Musk is worth!
I’m talking about the same Elon Musk who spent $300,000,000 to buy the last presidential election and, as it turns out, to purchase our government. Three hundred million dollars is a fortune for nearly everyone else, but for Musk it was chump change.
Suppose you ( just barely a millionaire) had spent the same portion of your wealth that Musk did. $300 million of his estimated worth of $600,000,000,000–SIX HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS– is .0005%
And .0005% of your fortune is $500!
Maybe you’re richer, worth $3 million. Well, 5 thousandths of 1 percent of your $3M is $3000.
Even if you’re really rich–worth $30,000,000–your ‘Musk equivalent cost’ is still chump change, $30,000.
That’s right, we sold our country for a pittance. And as I see it, those who willingly and wittingly bought into the MAGA line have also sold something–their souls. (Those Trump voters have been misinformed and miseducated by the Fox/right wing media machine for years deserve sympathy, not condemnation.)
Those who sell themselves are, to put it crudely, whores. And those who sell themselves for .0005% are CHEAP WHORES.
That’s where America is right now, in the hands of greedy megalomaniacs, power-hungry opportunists, and vengeful white Christian nationalists.
How do we escape their grasp and recapture our country? I suggest at least five courses of action: 1) support the ACLU and other organizations that are filing lawsuits, 2) join forces with anyone who supports local public institutions like schools and libraries, 3) support Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who take public stands against MAGA, 4) support independent journalism wherever you find it, and 5) stand with those the Trump Administration is attacking (which now includes Lutherans and Catholics who are supporting compassionate services for immigrants).
It’s long past time for liberal Democrats to stop focusing on sectional interests like gender, race, and immigrant status and pay attention to the needs of a shrinking middle class suffering from growing income inequality.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sounded the warning back in 2017, when he urged everyone to “understand that absolutely these are very difficult and frightening times. But also understand that in moments of crisis, what has happened, time and time again, is that people have stood up and fought back. So despair is absolutely not an option.”
If we don’t work together, MAGA will eventually come for you, and for me, and all of us!
The Merrow Report 
well said. Time to again March against injustice!
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John,Yes, fully agree! I suggest let El
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Part of a statement by long time Minnesota state legislator & statesman, Carlos Mariani Rosa, who came here from a low income family in Chicago for college, and stayed.
Despite making up only a fraction of education funding, Washington bureaucrats now want to use their small financial contribution as leverage to dictate how we educate our students.
The federal government was never meant to control Minnesota’s schools. That authority belongs to our state, our communities, and the people who understand our students best.Why Minnesota values diversity
State lawmakers gather from across our state, bringing different Minnesota perspectives to shape policies that best serve our residents. We understand our unique social and economic needs better than federal administrators ever could. Minnesota lawmakers have every reason to be more motivated than Washington to ensure local resources are efficiently targeted to drive academic and vocational achievement that meets our state’s changing needs.
Equity in our state takes many forms—regional, racial, cultural, and based on community size—because each community faces unique barriers to equitable education. Addressing these disparities requires targeted, strategic solutions.
For example, small rural school districts receive targeted funding to address the higher transportation costs, limited access to specialized courses, and staffing shortages that come with serving students across vast distances. Students of color and English language learners receive additional resources, such as bilingual education, culturally responsive teaching, and academic interventions, to overcome systemic barriers to learning.
This investment ensures Minnesota is preparing a workforce that can step into high-demand jobs, filling the gaps left by a rapidly aging and retiring generation. It also strengthens communities statewide, ensuring that every student—regardless of zip code or background—has the skills, knowledge, and motivation to succeed.
Yet, this very approach to academic, economic, and social success of our state is what Washington bureaucrats are now trying to dismantle. Under the guise of fairness and patriotism, they seek to coerce Minnesota into abandoning its commitment to inclusion, not to improve education, but to push an ideological agenda that excludes rather than uplifts every student.
Like many states, Minnesota’s laws reflect our values. We intentionally align our policies with practical solutions to build a stronger, more inclusive, and healthier state. Everyone has a role in that success—White, Black, Indigenous, men and women, older and younger, LGBTQ people, immigrants including those working toward legal status, and those whose first language is not English.
Our human rights laws, grounded in our state Constitution, affirm the human dignity of every person, and they recognize diversity as an asset and strength that must be honored and fully supported by our schools and universities if we are to succeed as a state. Minnesota must challenge the harmful USDOE directive
Regardless of its “Dear Colleague” title, the recent USDOE letter was not written as a collegial message. It was crafted by political operatives who have no regard for Minnesota law, seeking to coerce us into abandoning our values and causing social and economic harm in our communities.
We must challenge this unprecedented directive in court. There is no legal basis for the Executive Branch to usurp the appropriations authority of the Legislative Branch. The mere fact that this USDOE does not value our work for racial equity does not grant it the legal right to deny funding that has been properly appropriated for public education in Minnesota.
What is needed now is the collective resolve of Minnesota’s education leaders to reject the USDOE’s demands and reaffirm our commitment to education access, racial equity, and the academic success of every student.
The future of our state depends on it.
Carlos Mariani Rosa
MnEEP Executive Director
February 2025
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