Springfield Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 One of the most distressing aspects of the state of the US economy is the decrease in social mobility. It is much, much harder now than it used to be for Americans to improve their circumstances. In other words, if Americans are born poor, they're overwhelmingly likely to stay poor. Similarly, if Americans are born rich, they have a much better chance of staying rich than someone born poor or middle class. No one minds inequality as long as one's station in life is a function of one's own decisions and effort. When inequality becomes the luck of the draw, however, if becomes much more profoundly unfair. America's social mobility is now not only one of the lowest in the country's history--it's one of the lowest in the first world. If that doesn't change, the fundamental promise of America for the past 250 years will disappear. The country will no longer be a place in which you can control your economic destiny. Rather, it will become the sort of society that so many of those who emigrated here sought to escape: A country in which your destiny is determined at birth. Earlier this week, professor Joseph Stiglitz sat down with my Yahoo colleague Aaron Task to talk about this issue. Income inequality has become the subject of much debate in this country, in large part because of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In his latest book, The Price of Inequality, Columbia Professor and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz examines the causes of income inequality and offers some remedies. In between, he reaches some startling conclusions, including that America is "no longer the land of opportunity" and "the 'American dream' is a myth." While we all know stories of people who've moved up the social stratosphere, Stiglitz says the statistics tell a very different story. In the last 30 years the share of national income held by the top 1% of Americans has doubled; for to the top 0.1%, their share has tripled, he reports. Meanwhile, median incomes for American workers have stagnated. Even more than income inequality, "America has the least equality of opportunity of any of the advanced industrial economies," Stiglitz says. In short, the status you're born into — whether rich or poor — is more likely to be the status of your adult life in America vs. any other advanced economy, including 'Old Europe'. More at link:http://www.businessinsider.com/the-american-dream-is-now-a-myth-2012-6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 There is nothing here another tax cut for the rich and a war with Iran wouldn't fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 There is nothing here another tax cut for the rich and a war with Iran wouldn't fix No no. Let the Bush tax cuts expire and raise 'em on everyone. It's the only way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsmarydu Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 There is nothing here another tax cut for the rich and a war with Iran wouldn't fix Or 600 more jobs(I mean, abortion) bills in Congress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 No no. Let the Bush tax cuts expire and raise 'em on everyone. It's the only way. When mobility was greater, were tax rates Higher? Or lower? Granted, correlation does not always equal causation. But negative correlation certainly doesn't equal causation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I blame the education system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I blame the education system Best way to fix it is abolish it and let the private market solve the crisis. It's what all the successful countries are doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 why fix it...it is a indoctrination and work program to better prepare the future serfs and convicts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 why fix it...it is a indoctrination and work program to better prepare the future serfs and convicts Not yet. But almost. Just a few more improvements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Not yet. But almost. Just a few more improvements. another term? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 another term? More spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselPwr44 Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 "The Private Sector is doing just fine" -Barack Obama, June 8th 2012 Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Yeah, and class mobility was so great, before Obama took over. It must be his fault. But stick with it. Wouldn't want to actually think, or anything. ---------- But, on the subject of the OP: Yeah, I've had the feeling for decades that there's been a constant force, a pressure, pushing government, and society, to change in ways that make labor weaker. I've had the feeling for decades that there seem to be a lot of people who honestly believe that America would be a better place if every American worker took a pay cut. A big one. I understand that it's natural for capital and labor to be opposing forces. (Nothing necessarily wrong or evil with that. Sellers and buyers are adversaries, too. It's nature.) But, I feel like both of those opposing forces have been lobbying the government to intervene on their side in the fight. (Which, IMO, is both their right, and perfectly natural, too). But that, in the words of Warren Buffett: "Yes, there is class warfare. My class is winning." I think that one side has been consistently winning those political tug-of-wars, and that the government has been consistently moving to favor one side of that adversarial relationship. IMO, there's nothing wrong about the struggle. But there's a problem when one side always wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexey Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Job creators are people who buy things - middle class. imho things are going to get worse before they get better. The last crisis was supposed to be a wake-up call, but they did such a great job putting out the fires and keeping everything as is. I do blame Obama, actually. He could have done much more to improve things. Too much of the Stimulus went to tax cuts, and the rest was done from the supply side or sent down through the government. Things would be very different if, say, a chunk of the stimulus went to something like interest free loans for people to make alternative energy installations... or other things that would stimulate the demand side and let the people make the choices w/ the money. "Government picking winners and losers" is probably the only valid GOP slogan. No campaign finance reform, no strong alternative energy plan, just an awesome heath care reform that does not have public option. He was supposed to change the game but he figured that he may get an advantage from keeping the same rules. Played it safe, I suppose. I've heard people say that maybe this whole things was Rahm's fault. Supposedly he was the political operator who pushed for playing the game. Yeah maybe it is all Rahm's fault Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselPwr44 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Yeah, and class mobility was so great, before Obama took over. It must be his fault. But stick with it. Wouldn't want to actually think, or anything. One should practice what they preach. When your boy comes off looking like Bagdad Bob, he's part of the problem too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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