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The problem is when economic prosperity is only experienced by the few.. ie the 1% wealthiest...
What I believe we need is to maintain and increase opportunities for class mobility and ways for citizens to improve their situation. One place to invest is education.... the proper education... make education more accessible. Keep in mind that most of the working people (poor, middle, and affluent) generate most of their wealth through labor while the wealthy/rich/top-1% generate wealth through investments.
This poster gets it. Thank you for cutting through the talking points and groupthink with logic, facts, and critical thinking.
I disagree with the second part. I think the middle class (the bulk of those in question) need to be "brainwashed" into investing their extra cash instead of being such consumers. This will make the middle class the owners of the corporations instead of the 1%. Then the corporations will stop abusing the middle class because....the middle class owns the corporations...
If that were to happen, the economic gears would grind to a smoking, clattering halt.
The economy doesn't work without customers. Look at Greece for a perfect example of what happens to a country when people stop spending.
The problems are:
1) The middle class don't have very much (if any) "extra cash." They're supporting both the poor and the rich. And they're shrinking in numbers while the lower class grows. The average savings rate in this country is 2% (as of 2013, at least). That isn't enough to keep people away from payday loan companies if they blow a head gasket on one of their two daily drivers.
2) You cannot force people to be financially responsible. Some people will spend every penny they have, no matter what they make. A smaller percentage will at least save some of their income as a financial buffer. A smaller percentage still will bootstrap their way up the economic ladder.
3) Corporations abuse the middle class because that's the way the system is set up. SOME corporations do the right thing, even without laws in place which force them to do so -- Costco, for instance. The middle class do not need to supplement Costco employees with SNAP cards and emergency room health care. That's great -- but other businesses will not do this unless it is mandated.
This poster gets it. Thank you for cutting through the talking points and groupthink with logic, facts, and critical thinking.
Back in the '80's I made up a joke.
Encourage prosperity tax the snot out of the poor.
That doesn't make everyone richer, it just puts the growth in the top end.
The shape of the income distribution is largely a matter of public policies. Growing the top at the expense of the middle and bottom makes everyone but the top poorer.
How about the $24,000 reward that some illegals will get if Obama gets his way on this amnesty thing?
If we took $24,000 and simply handed it to each of the poorest 63 million Americans, we would:
1) Have spent roughly the same amount of money we completely wasted on the F-35 program
2) Actually have some fantastic economic stimulus to show for it.
So, even though your "Amnesty Reward Program" is an out-and-out hoax perpetrated by nitwits with an axe to grind, it would STILL be better than the ridiculous things we're doing with our money currently.
I disagree with the second part. I think the middle class (the bulk of those in question) need to be "brainwashed" into investing their extra cash instead of being such consumers. This will make the middle class the owners of the corporations instead of the 1%. Then the corporations will stop abusing the middle class because....the middle class owns the corporations...
If everyone in the Middle Class "invested" we would still have extreme inequality. That isn't a drastic enough measure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ContrarianEcon
1 and 2 can be answered by just increasing the minimum wage at a higher rate than inflation.
No, #2 is necessary. Wealth and Income must be confiscated at a higher rate from the top 1%. They accumulate additional wealth and income much faster than the lower classes.
1. Economics are much more complicated than your simple question.
2. All this stuff about the "1%" really isn't a truly breakdown of the various economic classes in America. stop believing propaganda.
3. What would a "middle class stimulus" look like? We've had various government "payments" or "rebates" before and things didn't change much.
If we took $24,000 and simply handed it to each of the poorest 63 million Americans, we would:
1) Have spent roughly the same amount of money we completely wasted on the F-35 program
2) Actually have some fantastic economic stimulus to show for it.
So, even though your "Amnesty Reward Program" is an out-and-out hoax perpetrated by nitwits with an axe to grind, it would STILL be better than the ridiculous things we're doing with our money currently.
If everyone in the Middle Class "invested" we would still have extreme inequality. That isn't a drastic enough measure.
No, #2 is necessary. Wealth and Income must be confiscated at a higher rate from the top 1%. They accumulate additional wealth and income much faster than the lower classes.
Do you understand the meaning of inflation tax? Read up on it.
Take it with inflation rather than getting the government involved.
I'm a big fan of smaller government.
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