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The Washington Post recently reported that the richest 20% of Americans collect 51% of the national income and own 73% of the net worth (real estate, money stocks and bonds minus what is owed in loans, debt, etc.). That means the bottom 80% get less than half of the income and only 27% of the net worth. As the old song says, they got the gold mine and we got the shaft!

This is just another example of the polarization of wealth that occurs under capitalism—and this after 7 years of a liberal Democratic president. While capitalism creates massive riches for the top 2% and a section of the upper middle class, the bottom 80% are not doing so well. Why should it be this way when it is the bottom 80%, the working class, that does all the necessary labor to make life both possible and comfortable for those who have the money?

Many workers are angry.  We see the Bernie Sanders campaign gaining more and more support, posing a real threat to Hillary Clinton. We also have the demagogues from the right, like Trump and Cruz. Trump does not really make money, he exploits the workers who build his developments and golf courses and do the day-to-day work at his casinos and other businesses. It is they who create the wealth that the billionaire Trump keeps for himself. Ted Cruz is another big business politician who poses as a friend of the worker. According to 2011 filings, Cruz and his wife had a net worth between $1.3 million and $3.4 million—by now it must have increased. He has posed as an “outsider” who ran his 2012 senatorial campaign on the basis of hard work and personal sacrifice—but neglected to reveal that he had borrowed $1 million from Wall Street stalwarts Goldman Sachs—who his wife works for!

Many workers are looking to the campaign season to see if there is any way to turn things around. Socialist Appeal is there to give clear analysis and clear answers. We explain that unless the working class is organized to take power and transform society with a socialist program, we are in for much more suffering. Even if Bernie Sanders were to be elected President of the US, he cannot bring about reforms unless he mobilizes the working class to change the entire system.

The Democratic Party will not allow this. Sanders would be doomed to oversee the next slump and be blamed for it. We argue that we need a social revolution that would transform the political and economic structure of society. In 2015 more people than ever responded to our message.

Last year, our subscription campaign to sign up new readers was a great success. We met, and then surpassed, our target by 13%! Our Fighting Fund collection also broke our target for the year and set a  new record. We thank all of our subscribers and contributors, new and returning.  2016 promises to be a year of growth for the IMT here and abroad. We intend to build and strengthen our National Center in NYC, which will allow us to better coordinate our political work and spread our ideas throughout the continent. Stay tuned to our paper and website and help us make 2016 even better!