Huffpost Politics The Blog   Michael Santos Headshot  Politics
in America: Ignoring Fiscal Responsibility and Opposing
Meaningful Reforms  Posted: Updated:  Standard and Poor's
lowered America's credit rating from AAA to AA+, I heard. The
news report that came across my radio headset early this morning
provided further evidence of how the world has changed. We are a
weaker country because of mismanagement by government leaders.
Misguided government leadership has hindered my life in numerous
ways throughout the 24 years that I have served in prison so
far.  I've followed politics ever since my prison term began.
Ronald Reagan sat in the White House when I began my term. I
watched elections that led to presidencies by Bush, Clinton,
Clinton, Bush, Bush, and Obama. I had hopes for reforms that
would bring attention to the prison system, but the only reforms
I saw led to more spending and bigger government. Leadership
refused to cut any aspect of government, and I lived in the
midst of a group of government work