This Isn't The Way It Was Supposed to Turn Out
What kind of country are we to be? This question was posed to me last night in a profound column by Thomas Frank, titled "Our Great Economic U-Turn," in the WSJ.
Thomas began the story by stating some of the stark economic facts that begin to define our society in 2008: The top hedge fund manager in 2007 earned a $3.7 billion, yes billion. The real hourly wages for workers have risen a mere 1 percent since 1979. Americans now clock more hours per year than any other country, even Japan, productivity is up 60 % yet wages are stagnant.
Health insurance continues to be a nightmare for just about everyone except state employees, and pension plans are becoming a relic. The column went on, following the downward spiral that the working man's world in the USA has become. It made me angry, and then sad, and then worried about my kids' futures.
It's been said a million times that this country is tilted toward the super rich. I meet travel agents who cater to them, I meet landscapers who 'only do high end,' I meet financial advisors who only want to work with the top earners. Everyone is chasing the 'whales' and even our president is pushing to make permanent the tax cuts that help the richest be richer.
But it isn't good, Thomas says. It is a plutocracy and we ought to be talking about it, and asking these three people who are running for president to address wealth inequity. And universal health insurance. And real mass transit, and rights for workers, who are on sad treadmills with little hope that things will improve.
Thomas talks about those who voted for Reagan. Yes, they wanted us to stand tall as a country, yes they wanted the government regulators off our backs. But did they want a banker's utopia? Did they, or we, want America to turn into a place with this kind of disparity?
Thomas began the story by stating some of the stark economic facts that begin to define our society in 2008: The top hedge fund manager in 2007 earned a $3.7 billion, yes billion. The real hourly wages for workers have risen a mere 1 percent since 1979. Americans now clock more hours per year than any other country, even Japan, productivity is up 60 % yet wages are stagnant.
Health insurance continues to be a nightmare for just about everyone except state employees, and pension plans are becoming a relic. The column went on, following the downward spiral that the working man's world in the USA has become. It made me angry, and then sad, and then worried about my kids' futures.
It's been said a million times that this country is tilted toward the super rich. I meet travel agents who cater to them, I meet landscapers who 'only do high end,' I meet financial advisors who only want to work with the top earners. Everyone is chasing the 'whales' and even our president is pushing to make permanent the tax cuts that help the richest be richer.
But it isn't good, Thomas says. It is a plutocracy and we ought to be talking about it, and asking these three people who are running for president to address wealth inequity. And universal health insurance. And real mass transit, and rights for workers, who are on sad treadmills with little hope that things will improve.
Thomas talks about those who voted for Reagan. Yes, they wanted us to stand tall as a country, yes they wanted the government regulators off our backs. But did they want a banker's utopia? Did they, or we, want America to turn into a place with this kind of disparity?
posted by Max Hartshorne at 7:49 AM
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