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Out of curiosity, has anyone who has already posted on this thread actually watched the video in the original post from start to finish? It is a fairly short video, just a few minutes long.
I've seen the video multiple times. What shocks me - each time! - is that the top 10% only own around 75% of the aggregate wealth. I would have expected that number to be 90% or 95%. Why? Because in a stable society, the vast, vast majority of the people only have enough money to attend to their daily needs, to their comfort and sustenance. For them to accumulate capital, and to invest said capital for geometric gains, is pretty shocking.
Closing the gap in say healthcare or education, is starkly different from closing the gap in wealth! I fully agree, that it would be silly to have a society where masses of people drop dead from cholera or typhoid, because they can't afford antibiotics... or where masses of children are illiterate, because their parents can't afford school-tuition. But that's not the sort of inequality of which the video speaks.
We need less income inequality, that's why I support movements like the fight for $15.
How has the $15 worked out for Seattle? I read that the statistics there show the workers are now making more per hour, but they've had their hours reduced by employers, so they now make $125/month less than before the law was passed. The outcome of the law is that it's driving overall earnings down. So, should Government also mandate that employers give workers a minimum of 40 hours/week? I suspect if they do that, alot of people will lose their jobs. So, are these wise Government mandates? Could there be a wiser way to wield Government power?
I think the Government should mandate that Public Colleges reduce costs to students by 50% so more can get College educated. That means Professors would actually have to teach more classes. Also, end tenure, and force the Professors to compete for their jobs/wages in an open market. Let's use the app "rate my professor" as a report card to use student input to decide Professor viability and compensation.
College costs have been outpacing inflation for years making a College education unaffordable for far too many for far too long. The Government should mandate that those costs be brought back into line, and allow more to become College educated.
No more Tenured Professors teaching 1 class, making $200,000+ and driving kids into debt while they get sub-par educations from lesser skilled Graduate Assistants.
Seems to me like the more Government controls markets (like the Public College system), the less efficient they become. This increases the costs of a College educaton, and holds people down who might otherwise be able to climb the ladder of economic achievement. The government is causing income inequality.
Lets make College more affordable to more kids, and mandate that College professors perform just like they make their students perform. This could go far in closing the income wage gap.
What's laughable is assuming that everyone earns what they should based on their contribution - that this is based on merit? People who are routinely overlooked realize we don't live in a meritocracy and that some can be smart and work very hard and make little.
The easiest way to get rich is to game the system. Granted it takes some talent to pull that off, but the benefit to society is usually negative. Meanwhile there is no question that the woman cleaning toilets for $8/hr is providing a beneficial service.
A healthy society is one that provides incentives and encouragement to those who do the most good. Does that resemble the one we have?
This govt appears to be into slavery. Lower middle class, elderly, self employed and middle class being attacked in favor of corporate trickle down economics and huge health insurance costs. Don't expect much welfare from this state...Only thing free sometimes is babies.
Well we all just got a drop in our taxes, so that is something.
The problem is that the waves of tax cuts over the last 20+ years have left no money for infrastructure. The way you grow the economy and be competitive in the global economy is by having good infrastructure and the best education system in the world. That costs money and you need to tax appropriately to pay for it. Easily 75% of the country isn't competitive in the global economy which is why we have the income stratification problem.
Kurt Vonnegut wrote a story about a society that enforced equality. Successful people were handicapped in some way to reduce their abilities to match those of unsuccessful people. For example, talented ballerinas were forced to dance with heavy weights attached to their limbs so they would not perform better than untalented people who thought they should also be ballerinas. Intelligent people had implants that produced random loud noises in their heads so they would not outperform less intelligent people. Etc. As I recall, it didn't end well.
While Vonnegut's imagination is on one end of the extreme, I would have to say that there must be inequality for the simple fact that people who do important stuff get rewarded for it. Up for debate is how much more they should be rewarded. Does a CEO really deserve to make an obscene $300 million a year? or profit $1 billion when his company does an IPO?
Some might say that the government should include both rich and lower income lawmakers, but the reality is if you're smart enough to be a lawmaker then most likely, your intelligence places you in a higher income bracket.
I would also agree that folks on the lower end see a lot of hardships due to stagnant wages and low mobility and recent events seems to work against those trying to move up.
Some might say that the government should include both rich and lower income lawmakers, but the reality is if you're smart enough to be a lawmaker then most likely, your intelligence places you in a higher income bracket.
Most professional politicians aren't exactly Mensa candidates. Most professional politicians didn't have the intellect or the grades to get admitted to an elite university. The estimates I've read is the average IQ in Congress is about 120. That isn't enough to get admitted to Med school.
I asked the question about at least watching the video in the OP before making a comment because I am noticing people making comments asking/addressing things that were discussed in the short video. While you are free to do as you wish, I ask that if you comment, that you please at least review the video and some of what is being said.
By working in the homeless shelter field of a large city and seeing the personalized situation of an increasing amount of people, I can assure you, yes, the problem of inequality is getting worse and a large degree of people are suffering from it, both silently and outspoken. I can also assure you that this problem is not localized to my large city but that this is a growing issue throughout the country. This is what the data is showing.
This inequality is harming a large percentage of people’s lives and it is major cause of human suffering. People losing homes because they get sick (even with insurance), people choosing between powering the lights or not eating some nights. The list goes on and on.
Those who are well off, usually have the money to invest either in assets (such as property) or in funds (such as mutual funds) so they can keep their lives above water and even can improve their "lot/situation" in life. However, an increasingly sizable portion are scraping by on just cover basic expenses and can not. These are honest people, working hard and long hours in fields that are absolutely essential to the wellbeing of our society.
Income inequality is getting worse based on the numbers as wealth is unevenly distributed and an increasing number of people are suffering because of it.
This thread was a general thread, not so much specifically about any current or recent tax plan(s), just the large (and increasing) difference between the lower and mid class and the wealthy. However, at the moment I get it that the tax plan is a hot topic. Here is my take:
Roads, bridges, Social Security, railroads, teachers, schools, firemen, police, agencies that protect us in other means etc etc. all cost money. We either all pay a reasonable amount of taxes or these things degrade to a degree or are outright eliminated. Taxes, while despised by many are absolutely essential for the overall wellbeing of everyone.
A large portion of people complain about taxes here in the US but look where we actually stand compared to other countries in the amount of taxes each of us pay (spoiler alert – despite being the wealthiest nation on Earth, we are close to paying the least amount of taxes (comparatively): How do US taxes compare internationally? | Tax Policy Center
So, if we already pay a low amount of taxes (comparatively) based on our incomes what does lowering the tax even more do? Short answer: While it benefits each person’s wallet, overall it hurts the programs that actually provide and protect everyone.
Ok, so we pay less in taxes then almost everyone. Surely those other people and other countries are furious over their tax rate and the amount they are being charged? Not so fast: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/09/the-...-in-taxes.html
Huh? The happiest countries pay some of the highest taxes in the world? You mean that if other nations prioritized "social trust" and "healthy lives," they could also find that their citizens become more content? The answers to these questions is a resounding yes! This is what the data shows.
The widely enjoyed social benefits residents get in exchange for their taxes, such as universal health care, access to education and subsidized parental leave are things that people are all over the world in multiple countries are willing to pay for makes them happier. Because we are a capitalistic society, we have been told and taught by those making the money and in turn those making the laws, that making as much money as we can, while keeping as much as we can is in everyone best interest. Contrary to that teaching, this is not what the data shows from people all over the world in multiple countries.
Last edited by txbullsfan; 12-22-2017 at 11:50 AM..
The widely enjoyed social benefits residents get in exchange for their taxes, such as universal health care, access to education and subsidized parental leave are things that people are all over the world in multiple countries are willing to pay for makes them happier. Because we are a capitalistic society, we have been told and taught by those making the money and in turn those making the laws, that making as much money as we can, while keeping as much as we can is in everyone best interest. Contrary to that teaching, this is not what the data shows from people all over the world in multiple countries.
Those countries are just as capitalist as the US.
What we have that they don't is an oligarchy. A system run by the rich for the rich.
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