Of all developed nations, the United States has the most unequal distribution of income, and we’re surging towards even greater inequality.

Harvey Weinstein's new American Documentary



Quote: The facts are breathtaking. In 1978, according to Reich, a “typical male worker” made $48,302, while the typical top 1 percenter earned $393,682, more than eight times as much. In 2010, even as overall gross domestic product and productivity increased, the average male worker’s wage fell to $33,751. Meanwhile, the average top 1 percent earner was making more than $1.1 million — 32 times the average earner.

Graph illustration- the graph of American inequality over the past century looks like a suspension bridge — peaking in the 1920s, leveling out because of strong, progressive policymaking in the 1950s and 1960s, and spiking again from the Reagan years through the present. We see the consequences in middle-class families that have fallen off that bridge and are struggling to stay afloat.

That’s why this mind-boggling income gap isn’t just bad for families — it’s terrible for the whole economy. Research shows that the increasing chasm between the top 1 percent and everybody else has slowed our nation’s economic growth.

Robert Reich concludes his Berkeley course on wealth and poverty by stressing the power of his students — and all citizens — to make change. Free and fair markets don’t just happen; governments, elected by voters, set the rules by which they work. For all of Washington’s gridlock, then, it is still up to the American people to stand up and fight to make the market work better — not just for some, but for all.

Democracy is not a spectator sport

Link to Washington Post article

I wonder if this has anything to do with cheap Mexican labor.
When you add 12 million or so illegals into the mix that are working for far more than what they would make in their own shit hole of a country you can really skew the numbers.

The fact that in 1978 48k was a huge amount of money and 400k would make you a rich mother fucker.
Now 1.1mil barely will keep you in Grey Poupon and 33k will get you plenty of gummit assistance.

So it seems that there has always been a divide in income "equality" and this is nothing new. I bet the dude that invented the wheel made bank or maybe it wasn't him but the dude that knew how to market , distribute and sell the wheel that made bank.

My bet is that the 1.1 mil dudes are doing a whole hell of a lot more than the 33k dudes unless you are talking about mowing lawns and trimming the bushes.

My bet is that the 1.1 mil dudes are doing a whole hell of a lot more than the 33k dudes unless you are talking about mowing lawns and trimming the bushes. Originally Posted by The2Dogs

My bet is that we are becoming more like Mexico and if you think that is a good thing....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2561123.html

Meanwhile, in the United States, income inequality is on the rise, as working class and middle class salaries fail to keep up with those of people at the top of the income pyramid.
The share of income for the top 1 percent in the United States has grown more than any other Western country since 1960, according a paper by Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economists and Emmanuel Saez of the University of California at Berkeley published last year.

Yes. Income inequality is on the rise in the US. Why is that?

There are a whole bunch of reasons...do your own research.

I have, you moron, WPF. I just want to hear what others have to say.

You can just copy and paste something from Wikipedia and pretend you wrote it yourself, like you have been known to do. Others may respond with original thoughts.

I have, you moron, WPF. I just want to hear what others have to say.

You can just copy and paste something from Wikipedia and pretend you wrote it yourself, like you have been known to do. Others may respond with original thoughts. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Like you have responded with an original thought in this thread?

Yes. Income inequality is on the rise in the US. Why is that? Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Minimum wage laws, of course.

http://money.msn.com/now/post--top-1...income-in-2012

You commie socialists are all the same.
Legalizing the illegals will not raise the income of the workforce and only keep it at an artificially low level.
This is one of the main things if not the main thing that suppresses wages. A supply of cheap labor that keeps wages low. If home builders had to pay to hire and train from a very limited labor supply they would have to pay a much higher wage and in turn either charge more for their product or make much less money. Turn them into citizens and there will still be an over abundant supply of labor and the wages will remain low. Good thing you guys are practicing eugenics.

You commie socialists are all the same.
Legalizing the illegals will not raise the income of the workforce and only keep it at an artificially low level.
This is one of the main things if not the main thing that suppresses wages. A supply of cheap labor that keeps wages low. If home builders had to pay to hire and train from a very limited labor supply they would have to pay a much higher wage and in turn either charge more for their product or make much less money. Turn them into citizens and there will still be an over abundant supply of labor and the wages will remain low. Good thing you guys are practicing eugenics. Originally Posted by The2Dogs

Good thing you are blind...

Wages are suppressed not because solely of illegals but because capital can outsource too. Do you think more jobs have been lost to illegals or lost to companies moving their operation out of this country? Why is one ok and the other isn't?

Do you want free markets or not?

If so, why not tax the fuck out of who those benefits the most from outsourcing? The wealthy!

Why not tax the rich properly to police their world wide holding? You got JD bitching about our military not being paid properly , yet people like you and he have trouble seeing the big picture. We need to police the world so our rich can get richer? Yet they do not pay their fair share? How fuc'd up is that?

Don't you people understand? Can't you see the actual results? These are the by-products of globalization. I am not making a judgment on that fact, just trying to make you aware that if you think capital should be able to move freely throughout the world, why do you have a problem with labor doing the same? Why do you always blame illegals? You are the one hiring them. You want cheap food, you go to eating establishments that hire cheap labor to serve you cheaper meals, you want cheap houses, you buy from the folks that can bring you the most bang for the buck. Stop buying foreign
built products, stop eating at places that have illegals cooking for you stop buying from homebuilders that hire illegals. Bob Perry who owned Perry homes got rich from selling to folks that bitched about illegals yet bought his homes built by illegals in record numbers. He was the biggest supporter of the GOP.

Learn more about a subject matter and bitch less. You are the problem, not illegals. You'd do the exact same thing to feed your family.

LMAO how do you count illegals when they aren't on the books?

LMAO how do you count illegals when they aren't on the books? Originally Posted by i'va biggen

With his fingers! For the real complicated math problems, he has no choice but to take his shoes off.

So what you are saying is that if we had a much friendlier working environment for businesses and the government did not impose such high taxes that the companies would keep their production here and not move it out of the country or if they do punsih them even worse with jpunitive taxes to the point that they move everything overseas and out of this country. That would more than likely lower the top 1 percent but with fewer jobs the market for labore would be further suppressed and wage would go down even more.

It seems the more the government is involved the worse off it is for everybody rich and poor.

Now with your point of view there WTF, I would assume that you pay all of your people equally regardless of what work they perform AND when the profits are made from their labor you equally divide it up between yourself and your workers or is that one of those gray areas. Seems like that would be what you should do if you truly believe that there is an issue off income inequality.

Hey, when you lose money on a project do you ask the workers to pay back their portion of the loss?

Now with your point of view there WTF, I would assume that you pay all of your people equally regardless of what work they perform AND when the profits are made from their labor you equally divide it up between yourself and your workers or is that one of those gray areas. Seems like that would be what you should do if you truly believe that there is an issue off income inequality.

? Originally Posted by The2Dogs

Don't you people understand? Can't you see the actual results? These are the by-products of globalization. I am not making a judgment on that fact, . Originally Posted by WTF

Seems to me that you are having a hard time understanding the written word. I am taking advantage of the reality of globalization, not sitting around bitching about something that there is nothing I can do about. Unlike you, I do not blame everything on illegals or Capital for that matter. It is WTF it is. We are just pion's and as such, I try and figure out how the big boys have set up the system and I then try and replicate their success.