Let's talk about income inequality

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(05-22-2015, 12:16 AM)Bengalzona Wrote: My opinions have been changing about minimum wage. I don't think there should be a national minimum wage. At least not as a set dollar amount, like $15. Costs of living vary dramatically from city to city across the nation. Even within the same state. A person in New York City may need $20/hour just to make rent and buy food. A person in Strawberry, Arizona might be fine on less than $10/hour. Individual cities and counties should be the ones to decide. And that seems to be the trend.

As far as income inequality, it is the violation of the social contract. Poor and middle class people generally don't care how much the rich people are making, until they see decades of rich getting richer while their classes don't improve at all. At that point, they feel taken advantage of. True, the world has changed. Globalization and automation have cut deeply into middle class jobs. The problem is that the rich have adapted to the changing world. It was easier for them because they have the resources to do so. It is a different story for the middle class. There are no replacement occupations, so the mass of people find themselves competing like dogs in a pit for the few remaining decent paying jobs. Now, to a degree, competition is good for everyone. But over-competition is not. And many people in the middle class reject that, particularly when it is forced upon them as a condition for basic survival. There is a feeling the pendulum is weighed to heavily on one side right now.

Frankly, this is a trend that should have been addressed by our politicians decades ago. It wasn't. Uncle Ronnie promised us it would all be okay because of the 'trickle down'. Where did that get anyone in the middle class? Uncle Bill promised better times with the 'peace dividend'. That was spent quickly, and not on the middle class. Uncle W. promised us that all would be okay if we just sent our children off to war and deregulated.

My point here is that no one has had a long term plan for the changing world. That should be no surprise. We are Americans, we don't do long term plans. We are left with one party which is preoccupied with the poor and another which is preoccupied with the rich. Neither speaks for the middle class despite their rhetoric. And private enterprise has no answers. They are preoccupied with their profit margins and bottom lines.

Man, you nailed that right on the head.....