VIDEO: Watch Three Former U.S. Treasury Sectaries Laugh About Income Inequality
Hank Paulson, Robert Rubin, and Tim Geithner crack up over the wage gap.
, the moderator asked the three about income inequality.
Paulson addressed the question, saying he had worked on the issue since he was an executive at Goldman Sachs.
At this point, Rubin – another former Treasury Secretary who was also a Wall Street executive – cracked a joke, saying he was working on “increasing it.” (just stating the obvious)
This provoked sustained laughter from the audience, as well as all three secretaries, as well as Sandberg.
http://www.alternet.org/video/video-...ome-inequality
Last edited by boutons_deux; 10-07-2015 at 09:15 AM.
Poverty in the Deep South is widespread and deep. According to the Census Bureau,
17,054 households are still using wood as their primary heating fuel;
6,486 still lack complete plumbing facilities and
9,402 lack complete kitchen facilities.
The average per capita income in the state is only $20,618, 27 percent below the national average, and 23 percent live below the poverty line.
For every 1,000 Mississippi babies born in 2011, 9.4 died before their first birthday— that’s more than 50 percent above the average for the US.
The poverty, and health conditions in the poorest parts of the state, will be even worse than these averages.
It is shocking that a country home to so much wealth is also home to such deprivation. It reflects a growing inequality that has seen US GDP per capita more than double over 50 years while the bottom 15 percent of incomes has stagnated.
I’d also agree that some of the decline in manufacturing and related employment in the United States — as many as 2 million jobs, or more than 1 percent of the US labor force — may be due to the impact of Chinese imports.
http://www.vox.com/2015/10/7/9469001...heroux-poverty
Deep South is Confederate racist DEEP RED Repug states, polluted with Christian Taliban.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/w...re-a-disaster/
Making it tougher to govern.
Top 1 Percent Owns Half Of All Global Wealth, Per Credit Suisse Report
In the past year, global wealth reversed a steady upward climb and fell by $12.4 trillion, largely due to currency fluctuations. But worldwide wealth inequality continued its upward march: The top 1 percent of households “account for half of all assets in the world,” according to the 2015 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report.
That’s a first since the Swiss bank began compiling the data in 2000, and a level “possibly not seen for almost a century,” the researchers write. For those on the other end of the wealth spectrum, meanwhile, the numbers are reversed. The poorest half of the world’s population owns just 1 percent of its assets.
Though these inequality figures fall in line with longer-term trends, they also reflect financial markets that have experienced an uncommonly long bull run, especially in the United States. Financial assets have seen a 6 percent rise in the share of total wealth since 2008, benefiting the wealthy, who hold a disproportionate amount of capital.
The share of global wealth in the top 1 percent mirrored the rise in financial asset values. James Davies, Rodrigo Lluberas and Anthony Shorrocks, Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook 2015
http://www.ibtimes.com/top-1-percent...report-2139270
New 2015 Wealth Data Reveal U.S. Inequality at Its Ugliest
Bernie Sanders showed his outrage about inequality at the Democratic Debate, and more and more Americans are understanding his message. Indignation is likely to grow with new data from the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook, which reveals the wealthy elite’s continuing disdain for the poor, for the middle class, and for people all around the world.
Some of the most troubling disparities are hidden in the myriad tables of this remarkably comprehensive publication. The purpose here is to translate the numbers into wealth gap realities that victimize the great majority of Americans. Details can be viewed at You Deserve Facts.
1. At the Bottom: Of the Half-Billion Poorest Adults in the World, One out of Ten is an American
That seems impossible, with so many extremely poor countries, and it requires a second look at the data, and then a third look. But it’s true. In the world’s poorest decile (bottom 10%), one out of ten are Americans, many of whom are burdened with so much debt that any remnant of tangible wealth is negated. Other nations have high debt, most notably in Europe, but without an excessive burden on their poorest citizens.
Incredibly, then, nearly 50 million of America’s 243 million adults are part of the world’s poorest 10%. In contrast, over 110 million American adults are among the world’s richest 10%.
2. At the Top: The Richest 1/10 of American Adults Have Averaged Over $1 Million Each in New Wealth Since the Recession
Housing rebound? Mostly for the rich, along with their taking of almost all the financial wealth. Total U.S. wealth increased by a stunning 60 percent since 2009, from $54 trillion to $86 trillion, but 3/4 of that massive increase went to the richest 10% of Americans.
The average one-percenter has ac ulated $5 MILLION since the recession.
3. In the Middle: The U.S. is the Only Region Where the Middle-Class Does Not Own Its Equivalent Share of Wealth
The North American middle class, as defined by Credit Suisse, and of which the U.S. is by far the largest part, has 39% of the people but only 21 percent of national wealth. Every other region of the world shows the reverse phenomenon, with the middle class owning an oversized portion of national wealth.
The Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report states: “The average wealth of middle-class adults in North America is barely half the average for all adults. In contrast, middle-class wealth per adult in Europe is 130% of the regional average; the middle class in China is three times better off in wealth terms than the country as a whole; and the average wealth of the middle class in both India and Africa is ten times the level of those in the rest of the population.”
4. In the Upper-Middle: For a Full 70% of Americans, Percentage Ownership of National Wealth is One of the Lowest in the World
That’s 70%. Not just the most impoverished, or the poorest half, but a full 70% of us are near the bottom of the world in percentage of wealth ownership. Just 6.9 percent of the wealth is owned by 70% of us. All other reporting nations range between about 13 and 30 percent.
5. The Big Picture: Only Kazakhstan, Libya, Russia, and Ukraine Have Worse Wealth Inequality than the United States
That’s among countries with at least a million adults (see details for a discussion of the outlier Denmark). The global Gini is also higher, at .91, reflecting the dramatically greater disparitybetween nations rather than within them.
Barack Obama once said, “I believe America is exceptional.” The inequality data proves him right.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/...+the+Headlines
and the US wealthy are still trying their hardest to enrich themselves and everybody else.
We are the most unequal society in the developed world: As bad as you think income inequality is, it’s so much worse
It turns out that the median American response – that is, the response that is exactly in the middle of survey results from Americans – estimated that a CEO of a large company earned about $900,000 per year and that the average factory worker earned about $25,000. That makes for a wage-gap ratio of 36 to 1.
http://www.salon.com/2015/10/29/we_a...worse_partner/
Powers that be don't want you to know...
You are about to learn the worlds biggest secret...
Yep, and we are gonna tell you...
Pssst. Over here, I'm gonna tell YOU something * cue hiding in a darkened corner*
= immediate turnoff
There are enough scholarly articles on this. Putting up like this just ruins truthful discussion.
The problem is clear for most.
The solution(s) is/are not.
solutions are known, but the oligarchy owns govt. the status quo is rigged and untouchable.
Your solutions most likely have other ramifications you can't begin to forecast.
The redistribution of wealth is NOT straightforward.
what's worked in the past could work again, but the oligarchy, plutocracy now runs the country
Bombing the out of Europe and Asia?
the US economy got almost no kick from the defense spending, $2T, of the Repugs criminal Iraq war for oil, although MIC mgmt + investors did well.
Plutocracy has always existed to some degree in every country on Earth throughout history. You calling for a French Revolution? Wealthy people can be benevolent and they are not all Republicans. Wealth does not automatically make one evil. There will always be inequality in wealth.
I would agree it's at an unhealthy level. So do many wealthy people.
The inequality is definitely there when talking about the wealth of the top 1% vs. the rest of Americans and especially those in poverty. That said, I personally know several families that would rather live off of the government than actually WORK to try and hold steady jobs. It's sickening, infuriating and lamentable all at the same time.
I'm physically at work 10-12 hours a day, Monday through Friday, have to work about 3-5 hours every other Saturday and occasionally have to work 12-18 hours a day for 45-50 straight days (with a forced 14th day off) every two years. I work my butt off. As a result of this arduous schedule I end up paying anywhere from 45-50K/yr in income taxes - revenue that goes into funding the lifestyles of those aforementioned folks who don't want to hold a job.
The "opportunities simply weren't there for them"... IS a BOLD FACE LIE! Ushered by those who want to retain their lifestyle of handouts. I attended the same public schools they did - in 'poorer' districts. I didn't even own a computer 'till my junior year in high-school - a computer which was bought with my own sweat after having worked a whole summer to afford it.
I had a recent discussion with some European elitists who felt the need to suggest American curriculums were so deficient and lackluster when compared against European curriculums. I pointed out that the problem wasn't entirely curriculum based but CHOICE based and cultural. Students in American schools choose, particularly M.S. and H.S. students, the degree of difficulty of their courses. Culturally, our students place far more emphasis on sports or other activities outside of academics - but they CHOOSE to do that (and end up 'suffering' from those choices in their adult lives). Some students, who are instilled with a basic understanding of setting academic goals elect to take harder courses. As a freshmen in college, I already had the equivalent of a full year of credits simply from having enrolled in every AP class that I could IN HIGH SCHOOL - again a choice. To suggest then, that the folks that didn't work hard in school - never had an opportunity or a chance is disingenuous.
I know this doesn't apply to all who suffer through poverty. I also know there are real needs by folks who cannot legitimately work. By and large however, most of the populace is enrolled in our school systems - ins utions which should have provided a SOLUTION - had those students opted to take a harder route.
Last edited by Phenomanul; 10-30-2015 at 09:31 AM.
I mostly agree with your take here, but let's be realistic also, I'm willing to bet your folks instilled that hardworking mentality and that helped you make those hard decisions back when you were a teenager. You probably had a big picture/long game explained to you at that point, and I found out through experience that's not necessarily a common thing.
Asking teenagers to make such drastic decisions at an early age that can have such a major impact throughout the rest of their lives is difficult, and society seems to be built in a way where if you walked long enough in the bad road, it becomes extremely difficult to change course and go back to the right track. I don't necessarily endorse people that quit trying to get there, but I understand why that might happen.
And obviously, this is a much deeper topic, which should unavoidably include things such as family education and socioeconomic conditions and what opportunities that opens up, etc.
I agree with most of this. But let's be real... our schools definitely offer a route to success. To suggest that they don't panders to those who feel they have to blame others for their own choices. They had their fun in middle-school, high-school and even during college (if they opted for less difficult disciplines/degrees). Despite my hard work, I get to enjoy the fruit of my labor now... later in life.
"I personally know several families that would rather live off of the government than actually WORK to try and hold steady jobs. It's sickening, infuriating and lamentable all at the same time."
are you sickened, infuriated, and lamenting about the corrupt financial sector stealing $Ts from the 99%? stealing Ms of homes? rigging the financial system to bleed the 99% into financial stress and poverty?
They hate what they think they understand. They don't understand the finance sector and they don't pretend to. Let them "self-govern" -- they know what's best.
Offshoring the Economy: Why the US is on the Road to the Third World
On April 3, 2015 the US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that 93,175,000 Americans of working age are not in the work force, a historical record. Normally, an economic recovery is marked by a rise in the labor force participation rate. John Williams reports that when discouraged workers are included among the measure of the unemployed, the US unemployment rate is currently 23%, not the 5.2% reported figure.
In 2014 38% of all American workers made less than $20,000;
51% made less than $30,000;
63% made less than $40,000; and
72% made less than $50,000.
The scarcity of jobs and the low pay are direct consequences of jobs offshoring. Under pressure from “shareholder advocates” (Wall Street) and large retailers, US manufacturing companies moved their manufacturing abroad to countries where the rock bottom price of labor results in a rise in corporate profits, executive “performance bonuses,” and stock prices.
The departure of well-paid US manufacturing jobs was soon followed by the departure of software engineering, IT, and other professional service jobs.
the economy creates lowly-paid part-time jobs, such as waitresses, bartenders, retail clerks, and ambulatory health care services, while full-time jobs with benefits continue to shrink as a percentage of total jobs.
Nationally, nearly half of 25-year-olds lived with their parents in 2012-2013, up from just over 25% in 1999.”
Finance is the only sector of the US economy that is growing. The financial industry’s share of GDP has risen from less than 4% in 1960 to about 8% today. As Michael Hudson has shown,
finance is not a productive activity. It is a looting activity
When manufacturing jobs depart, research, development, design, and innovation follow. An economy that doesn’t make things does not innovate. The entire economy is lost, not merely the supply chains.
The economic and social infrastructure is collapsing, including the family itself, the rule of law, and the accountability of government.
When college graduates can’t find employment because their jobs have been offshored or given to foreigners on work visas, the demand for college education declines. To become indebted only to find employment that cannot service student loans becomes a bad economic decision.
It is a reasonable conclusion that a social-political-economic system so incompetently run already is a Third World country.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/...o-third-world/
in short, America is ED and UN ABLE
and you rightwingnuts, slurping down any old you're handed, think garbage like Trump, Rubio, Carson are viable Presidents.
Last edited by boutons_deux; 10-30-2015 at 03:18 PM.
Boots.
Do you think technology has played any role in the decrease of well paying blue collar jobs?
For the Wealthiest, a Private Tax System That Saves Them Billions
The hedge fund magnates Daniel S. Loeb, Louis Moore Bacon and Steven A. Cohen have much in common. They have managed billions of dollars in capital, earning vast fortunes. They have invested millions in art — and millions more in political candidates.
Moreover, each has exploited an esoteric tax loophole that saved them millions in taxes. The trick? Route the money to Bermuda and back.
With inequality at its highest levels in nearly a century and public debate rising over whether the government should respond to it through higher taxes on the wealthy, the very richest Americans have financed a sophisticated and astonishingly effective apparatus for shielding their fortunes. Some call it the “income defense industry,” consisting of a high-priced phalanx of lawyers, estate planners, lobbyists and anti-tax activists who exploit and defend a dizzying array of tax maneuvers, virtually none of them available to taxpayers of more modest means.
In recent years, this apparatus has become one of the most powerful avenues of influence for wealthy Americans of all political stripes, including Mr. Loeb and Mr. Cohen, who give heavily to Republicans, and the liberal billionaire George Soros, who has called for higher levies on the rich while at the same time using tax loopholes to bolster his own fortune.
All are among a small group providing much of the early cash for the 2016 presidential campaign.
Operating largely out of public view — in tax court, through arcane legislative provisions, and in private negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service — the wealthy have used their influence to steadily whittle away at the government’s ability to tax them. The effect has been to create a kind of private tax system, catering to only several thousand Americans.
The impact on their own fortunes has been stark. Two decades ago, when Bill Clinton was elected president, the 400 highest-earning taxpayers in America paid nearly 27 percent of their income in federal taxes, according to I.R.S. data. By 2012, when President Obama was re-elected, that figure had fallen to less than 17 percent, which is just slightly more than the typical family making $100,000 annually, when payroll taxes are included for both groups.
The ultra-wealthy “literally pay millions of dollars for these services,” said Jeffrey A. Winters, a political scientist at Northwestern University who studies economic elites, “and save in the tens or hundreds of millions in taxes.”
Some of the biggest current tax battles are being waged by some of the most generous supporters of 2016 candidates. They include the families of the hedge fund investors Robert Mercer, who gives to Republicans, andJames Simons, who gives to Democrats; as well as the options trader Jeffrey Yass, a libertarian-leaning donor to Republicans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/30/bu...s&emc=rss&_r=0
America is ed and un able.
I don't agree with that. Providing access to capital for good business proposals adds value to our economy especially if the business is successful and it creates risk for the lender.
Introducing Kuznets Waves: How Income Inequality Waxes and Wanes Over the Very Long Run
The Kuznets curve was widely used to describe the relationship between growth and inequality over the second half of the 20th century, but it has fallen out of favour in recent decades.
This column suggests that the current upswing in inequality can be viewed as a second Kuznets curve. It is driven, like the first, by technological progress, inter-sectoral reallocation of labour, globalisation, and policy.
The author argues that the US has still not reached the peak of inequality in this second Kuznets wave of the modern era. (well, duh)
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/...+capitalism%29
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