US Inequality Crisis Worst in Industrialized World. Trump Will Make It Worse

[CommonDreams]

US Inequality Crisis Worst in Industrialized World. Trump Will Make It Worse.

Jake Johnson, staff writer

The United States is already the most unequal industrialized nation in the world, and a new report published on Monday shows that President Donald Trump's agenda would only make matters worse.

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[Lrx]

I would say Trump and the Republicans in Congress will make income inequality worse. That will not bother the Republicans much because they are focused on small federal government, personal responsibility for one's fate, white supremacy, and male supremacy, and when it comes to Trump and Steve Bannon, a goal is also fascism.

[natureboy]

If inequality grows where the people have no voice, why does America still depend on sold out politicians to make the laws?

Direct Democracy

[stiffupperflipflop]

It's the system and oeopke are still benefitting from it, Some really and some are expecting to and those like me who expect only an economic breakdown think the economy won't last all that much longer.

[port_lookout]

Trump personifies US ruling class policy since 1981, both domestic and foreign - crude, rude, ignorant, arrogant, violent and manipulative.

A nation ruled by blowhard capitalists trying to have it all.

[countryrds]

How to change this? 1950 tax rates? Which party is advocating single payer, guaranteed and free higher education, massive public works projects along with climate action, guaranteed minimum income, radical reduction in military expenditures and ending overseas wars? Answer, neither one as they only represent those who oppose all of those programs and who will even resort to violence to protect their interests. Inequality is not a problem for those in control.

[esperanto]

Income inequality is just one of the many social, ecological, economic and and political crises facing ordinary working people. The "progressive" reforms listed never mention the underlying cause as the economic system of capitalism. The capitalist economic system is designed to make a few capitalists filthy rich by exploiting and impoverishing everyone else.

Merely raising wages is not a solution as employers cut and eliminate work benefits (health care, pensions, etc.)
Capitalists merely find new ways to cut and eliminate taxes, corrupt politicians, move overseas, manipulate the stock market, etc. anything to maximize profit.

For a brilliant examination, with several graphs, check out this article:

Wages and Wall Street
by Barry Grey
15 July 2017 (wsws.org Perspective Editorial Comment)
...
"Adjusting for inflation, real wages in the US have, according to this index, fallen by 7.5 percent since 2006. In real terms, average wages in the US peaked more than 40 years ago."

"The share of the US gross domestic product going to labor has fallen to the lowest level since the end of World War II, while the share going to corporate profits has hit record highs"

[UncleFester]

"How to change this?  1950 tax rates?"

That would at least be a tiny step in the right direction.
Return to Eisenhower-Era Pro$perity?   Return to Eisenhower-Era Tax Rate$!!

Breaking up the Multi-Nazional Korporate Monopolies would also help –
Where is Teddy Roosevelt now that we REALLY need him?

"Which party is advocating single payer, guaranteed and free higher education, massive public-works pro­jects along with climate action, guaranteed minimum income, radical reduction in military expenditures and ending overseas wars?  Answer, NEITHER ONE as they only represent those who oppose all of those pro­grams and who will even resort to violence to protect their interests.  Inequality is not a problem for those in control."

Your answer is nothing new.  As I've posted previously, O'Bummer himself admitted on January 27, 2010,
"The differences between the 2 major parties are not as great as they are sometimes made out to be.", an understatement if there ever was one.

IIRC, the original Magna Carta protected the Dukes & Princes – the Fat Cats of their day – from excessive pre­dations by the King.  We need a new Magna Carta to protect us 'common people' – and OUR Commons – from predation by the Fat Cats.

[fern]

Change this by changing the relationships between government and say the health care industry as in this example

The 8 Largest Health Insurance Companies Will Get a $72 Billion Tax Cut From GOP...

[Giovanna-Lepore]

Answer, neither one

Then there are the other parties such as the Greens and any socialist party.

[Olhippy]

Democracy exists in name only and is an ongoing joke in the more progressive circles of understanding. Politicians, professional liars that they are, are bought and paid for by rich oligarchs and lobbyists whom could care less about actual democracy.

[countryrds]

True, but they for all practical purposes are powerless. I voted for and will continue to support the Greens, but the windmills are huge and that is not an accident.

[mcsandberg]

Inequality doesn't matter much:

The left continues to operate on an a priori assumption that income inequality/wealth concentration is a bad thing, because of those riches backstroking through their money. But that’s just a jealousy trope. Upon closer inspection, you’ll see that income inequality and wealth concentration don’t inhibit economic mobility; they don’t inhibit economic growth; and they are not detrimental to democracy or to human liberty. ( http://thefederalist.com/2014/04/23/why-inequality-doesnt-matter/ )

All this worry about inequality still feels to me like nothing more than envy.

[mcsandberg]

Tax rates matter a lot less than you'd think. Hauser's law is a very real thing http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/254034/hausers-law-reality-isnt-negotiable-veronique-de-rugy .

[illusion]

See all the rich out their protesting the largest transfer of wealth in history -in their favor---see Buffett or Gates saying stop this madness-NOT-I'm sure we will hear from them after all the stealing is done.People need to WAKE UP and realize they have the power to take back this wealth and return it to the people--SUPPORT THE COMMONS!

[WalterPewen]

That's correct and important people to remember the exact time-the beginning of Reagan. When the United States began it's long plunge into the gutter. While the media babbled and tried to normalize it. It was very obvious what would happen to the country, domestically and internationally. And frankly, to some degree, irreversibly.

[Lynn1]

It looks like the country is at the point of: who cares.
Directly related to inequality: life expectancy. Which for the working class in the US is falling–this has never happened before.

Requiem For The American Dream trailer:

While the King of Inequality (Big O-Obama) is out making $3.2 million per 1.5 hour speech the rest of the hoi polloi suffers: “… under Bush, the 1% captured a disproportionate share of the income gains from the Bush boom of 2002-2007. They got 65 cents of every dollar created in that boom, up 20 cents from when Clinton was President. Under Obama, the 1% got 93 cents of every dollar created in that boom. That’s not only more than under Bush, up 28 cents. In the transition from Bush to Obama, inequality got worse, faster, than under the transition from Clinton to Bush. Obama accelerated the growth of inequality.” http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/04/growth-of-income-inequality-is-worse-under-obama-than-bush.html

During Obama’s Presidency Wealth Inequality has Increased and Poverty Levels are Higher
https://www.counterpunch.org/2016/02/26/during-obamas-presidency-wealth-inequality-has-increased-and-poverty-levels-are-higher/

Income Inequality Worse Under Obama Than George W. Bush

[justbreathe]

“Adjusting for inflation, real wages in the US have, according to this index, fallen by 7.5 percent since 2006. In real terms, average wages in the US peaked more than 40 years ago.”

Precisely. i.e. In early 80’s I made $8.35. Same position, same company today starts just above $11.00. Adjusted for inflation, it should be over $20. We have been royally screwed for 40 years.