Robert Reich: The Dis-Uniting of America
The Dis-Uniting of America
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
We come together as Americans when confronting common disasters and common threats, such as occurred in Boston on Monday, but we continue to split apart economically.
Anyone who wants to understand the dis-uniting of America needs to see how dramatically were segregating geographically by income and wealth. Today Im giving a Town Hall talk in Fresno, in the center of Californias Central Valley, where the official unemployment rate is 15.4 percent and median family earns under $40,000. The so-called recovery is barely in evidence.
As the crow flies Fresno is not that far from Californias high-tech enclaves of Google, Intel, Facebook, and Apple, or from the entertainment capital of Hollywood, but they might as well be different worlds.
Being wealthy in modern America means you dont come across anyone who isnt, and being poor and lower-middle class means youre surrounded by others who are just as hard up. Upward mobility the old notion that anyone can make it with enough guts and gumption is less of a reality. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://robertreich.org/post/48204111845