None of the points you posted proved anything about the wealth gap. They could all be reasons for our current economic problems, but none of them explain why Amarican working class salaries haven't increased in 20 years.
:biggaplease:
First of all lets separate wealth from income. There are growing gaps in both, but I only have a problem with the income gap. You keep flip flopping... wages are not wealth, they are income. Which do you want to discuss?
All my points tied back to
wealth.
There are plenty incentives for CEO's to fire workers, and lower wages. Minimum wage was put in to place to prevent the rich from hoarding all the money, and forcing people to work for low wages. In the last 10 years minimum wage has gone up about $2 in that same time the cost of living has gone up probably ten times that amount. What good is minimum wage if the recipients are still living in poverty? This is another example of American economic policy favoring the rich. If the goal was really to help the middle class minimum wage would be much higher, or if would at least go up with the cost of living.
Bruh, minimum wage has
never been a guaranteed livable wage. It wasn't a livable wage 10, 20, 30 years ago, why are you demanding it be one now?
And here is a chart of the year over year cost of living over time. This includes everything- rent, food, gas, all the basics. Nowhere near 10x as much.
CPI & minimum wage have been neck and neck... $7 in 2001 is $9 today
So the rich lobby for policies that make them richer.
No
If I have $250K in my house, $250K in stocks, $250K in my 401K and $250K in my business, its much less likely that I will lose the whole million if shyt goes bad. I might lose everything in one category, or a little in all categories, but not everything in every category. Plus most of the time all of those assets are growing in value, so I am getting wealthier w/o even doing anything- including lobbying
If all I have is $50K in my house, and I bought it in a bubble, there's a much higher chance I will lose it all. THAT'S the difference between middle and upper class wealth, and why the wealthy stay wealthy. It has NOTHING to do with policy.
Has nothing to do with the income gap. Yes rich people have more economic stability, but that has nothing to do with why the American working class paycheck hasn't gone up in 20 years, while the top earners have earned more every year.
Again, you asked for wealth not income, get it straight
Outsourcing was supported by American economic policy. Companies were given incentives to fire workers and move overseas. Another example of economic policy favoring the upper class.
One example, which I never disagreed with.
Why is the wealth gap in America far greater than any other westernized country?
Why does it matter if the majority of that wealth is not coming at the expense of someone else? Wealth is not a zero sum game, a dude managing a brokerage account or a doctor seeing patients is not stealing from anybody.
I'm not up in arms about anything, just stating facts. American workers productivity has increased while wages stay the same. Americans are working harder for less money, how can you say they have no hunger?
American productivity has increased because of innovations in the workplace, not because Americans are working harder. How much faster can one dude make parts with a robot than by hand? How much faster can one dude process data with a computer than a calculator and a notepad? Productivity is 99% of the introduction of new tools in the workplace.
The people in the healthcare, engineering, and healthcare industries are the middle class. They are the ones who's wages haven't increased, and none of what you said explains why that is the case.
:biggaplease::biggaplease::biggaplease:
I am an engineer, I am middle class, my pay has gone up ~5-10% per year since I started working in 2006. My wife is a graphic designer, her pay has gone up by about 13% or so each year for the last 5 years. Through the recession!!! Both of my sisters work in healthcare, their pay has gone up the same over that time. I am close w/people in growing fields...
growing fields... people in these fields are seeing consistent increases in pay, making middle class wages ($40-80K)
And my point was relevant... Americans don't like math/science. But in other countries, a higher % of students go into those fields, and do better than us in those fields. Americans aren't dumber than those people, we all have the same genes. Its either a failure in the school system, a lack of effort, or.... a combination of both.
Has nothing to do with wages being stagnant for 20 years. America has always been the land of excess. Spending habits haven't changed, but the cost of living has gone up while wages have stayed the same. I agree Americans spend too much on nonessential things, but this isn't a new phenomenon, and it still doesn't explain the lack of income growth for the middle class.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. I showed you objective proof spending habits have changed earlier in this thread. We save less, we buy bigger houses, we eat more, we have more consumer goods, we have more debt. These are changing trends over time. America used to be a country of thrift and meager living... its only recently that its become the land of excess.
Like I said... if we are going to talk about this... we have to talk about all of it honestly... I don't deny there is an income gap problem and that there are some systematic failures... but that is far from all there is to it.
Show me where i said rich people caused the gap to go up. I said American economic policy is very rich people friendly, and dismissive of the middle class. I have provided examples to prove that point.
