There has been a lot written, said and thought about inequality in this country, especially with this last election….the populist resurgent has come on the heels of the inequality in the US.
Both Right and Left emphasizes it at every turn…..but is it as bad as they claim it is?
The answer is yes it is and believe it or not kt is worse than you think….
The more the ultra-rich prosper, the less they’re burdened with taxes, the greater the benefits for society as a whole. If you’re familiar with Republican economic theory of the past 40 years, you’ve probably heard this line of reasoning. In fact, just the opposite is true
Take it from the world’s third richest man, Warren Buffett, who recently noted that between 1982 and 2017, “the wealth of the 400 [richest people in America] increased 29-fold—from $93 billion to $2.7 trillion—while many millions of hardworking citizens remained stuck on an economic treadmill. During this period, the tsunami of wealth didn’t trickle down. It surged upward.”
The reality is the United States is now home to some of the worst income inequality in the developed world, and thanks to the recent passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, this wealth gap will grow exponentially wider.
Few want to believe the tale of the tape…..so inequality continues to grow and as it grows so will the outrage…..eventually that outrage will effect the results of elections….and that outrage will fuel the programs that address the inequality.
But can that outrage eliminate inequality?
I think it can but unfortunately not in my lifetime…..hopefully my granddaughter can see an end to the inequality.
‘Trickle-down’ is just propaganda. The rich are no longer just ‘gradually’ getting richer. It is happening at a faster rate than ever. They should watch out. One day all those poor people might just decide to take it away from them.
Best wishes, Pete.
It has always been trickle up instead of the opposite….chuq
It absolutely astounds me how virtually everyone in the most Capitalistic nation on Earth has no fucking clue how Capitalism works. It’s right there in the fucking name! At every turn in the game of life, Capitalism favours those with capital and penalizes those without. Unlike those living on the periphery constantly struggling to get by…because all their needs are more than met….most of those with capital, DO think of it as a game.
As the ghostwriter for a brash, young, 1980’s douchebag (who couldn’t get elected dogcatcher) once wrote in his autobiography…“Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.”
The rules of the Capitalism game are intentionally designed to favour those with more Capital. At every single turn…investments, loans, education, healthcare, housing…even just getting laid…the more capital you have, the better your options…and vice-versa.
As sure as violence begets violence, capital begets capital. Being born to somebody with capital gives you an enormous (usually insurmountable) head start (See: Bush family)…and vice-versa (See: “Skeezy” who lives in your apartment building’s dumpster).
You are right about capitalism and that is why for 40 years I have been leaning socialist….of course in those days that made me a commie, red, pinko, etc. I kinda like some parts of democratic socialism and so do many young Americans…we can hope. chuq
Unless you’re a 1%-er, or fantasize about living in post-apocalyptic bunkers, or combating hungry hoards for table scraps, or becoming Soylent Green…Socialism is the ONLY way to go now…especially with the Robot Apocalypse coming. That income disparity is going to be at least 1,000X what it is today when 30-50% have no jobs. Young people are stupid as bricks, but at least most of them have figured out that they’re fucked.
Even though it’s drifting in the wrong direction…and increasingly lead by thugs and/or sellouts…Most of Europe is still considerably more socialist than Bernie. Europe is more egalitarian income-wise…and yet it now has slightly more upward mobility than America…your system’s single biggest selling point and European Socialism’s “biggest weakness”.
Clearly, your system just ain’t working the way it used to. If there’s any way of saving it, it’s got to go back to the way it was, or it will collapse. Republicans need to be making that argument while they still can.
The Repubs have lost the collective minds with Trumpy…..I agree at least Bernie’s economic ideas are far superior than anything the other parties have to offer….if Dems can move Left there is a chance….chuq
Equality is a fantasy ideal that sounds good when you can afford to entertain it as an idea but a brutal piece of propaganda when you are down and out. Americans crushed any hope of equality when they destroyed the strength of collective bargaining and the unions during the communist scare of the 1950s.
I cannot argue plus the demonizing of labor by the Right for 50 years has done little to promote equality….thanx for the visit….chuq