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xchrom

(108,903 posts)
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 09:11 AM Apr 2013

Americans Can't Stop Talking About Income Inequality, But No One Is Doing Anything About It

http://www.businessinsider.com/nothing-is-being-done-about-inequality-2013-4

***SNIP

The US has the highest level of income gap of any of the advanced countries, with the top 1% capturing over 90% of the income growth. A Gini coefficient (the most commonly used measure of inequality) of zero represents perfect equality, while 1.0 indicates maximum inequality where one person takes all the income.

A reading above 0.4 is widely seen as an indicator of potentially destabilizing inequality. In 2011, the Gini coefficient for the US rose sharply to 0.475 from the 0.469 recorded in 2010 (pdf, p.2), and not a single state managed to reduce inequality.

The growing divide in America comes at a time when emerging nations in Asia and Latin America are directing a significant portion of their resources to eliminate extreme poverty and reduce inequality. Indonesia is working to provide health insurance to all 240 million citizens starting in 2014; Thailand introduced pensions for its informal sector in 2011; and India expanded its job guarantee scheme to include every rural district in 2008.

In January this year, China officially reported its Gini coefficient for income inequality for the first time in 12 years—a step seen by many as an indication of the administration’s commitment to narrow the gap between the rich and poor. China scored 0.474 in 2012, down from its peak of 0.491 in 2008.


Read more: http://qz.com/75733/in-the-us-everyones-talking-about-income-inequality-but-nobodys-really-doing-anything-about-it/#ixzz2R6S5ANjg
17 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Americans Can't Stop Talking About Income Inequality, But No One Is Doing Anything About It (Original Post) xchrom Apr 2013 OP
kick Coyotl Apr 2013 #1
Tax wealth, and provide everyone - everyone - with guaranteed minimum income. reformist2 Apr 2013 #2
People are doing things... PETRUS Apr 2013 #3
a deep sad sigh of agreement. nt xchrom Apr 2013 #4
K&R newfie11 Apr 2013 #5
too many working people are ok with it. I've worked with them. they've fallen for the scam. KG Apr 2013 #6
Isn't this the truth! BethanyQuartz Apr 2013 #9
I was talking to a worker at Radio Shack the other day when I went there for something Fumesucker Apr 2013 #13
They have been scares into being OK with it. Lady Freedom Returns Apr 2013 #17
As long as 47% of the country... Blanks Apr 2013 #7
Just like the republican montra MrYikes Apr 2013 #8
DU Rec Tuesday Afternoon Apr 2013 #10
What do you think the Occupy movement is? caseymoz Apr 2013 #11
Personally you'll find I'm an Occupy supporter xchrom Apr 2013 #12
"The comfort of the rich depends on an abundance of the poor." Voltaire Tierra_y_Libertad Apr 2013 #14
As unequal as income is in China as of 2012 it is actually better than in the US. pampango Apr 2013 #15
which is really the root of most of our social problems gejohnston Apr 2013 #16

PETRUS

(3,678 posts)
3. People are doing things...
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 09:26 AM
Apr 2013

Pete Peterson and his "fix the debt" assholes are working hard to make it worse...

KG

(28,748 posts)
6. too many working people are ok with it. I've worked with them. they've fallen for the scam.
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 09:32 AM
Apr 2013

Last edited Sun Apr 21, 2013, 02:29 PM - Edit history (1)

 

BethanyQuartz

(193 posts)
9. Isn't this the truth!
Reply to KG (Reply #6)
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 12:08 PM
Apr 2013

And working tax payers who make slightly more fall for it, too. They complain about tax dollars going to the poor and never realize that some of the biggest corporations in the world pay so little that their employees have to apply for food stamps and other assistance just to live. So basically those giant, profitable corporations are robbing us all blind!

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
13. I was talking to a worker at Radio Shack the other day when I went there for something
Reply to KG (Reply #6)
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 02:10 PM
Apr 2013

He told me "I don't think they should raise the minimum wage" after we had got into a discussion about something or other, it started talking about gas prices and kind of leapfrogged around a bit. Friendly chat though.



Lady Freedom Returns

(14,120 posts)
17. They have been scares into being OK with it.
Reply to KG (Reply #6)
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 05:53 PM
Apr 2013

They hear the management guys say stuff "Where no one can hear" that if the wages go up, people will have to be fired to pay for it.

They are scared that they may lose their jobs due to it. They rather make something and struggle with the chance of losing all than lose the job all together and have a guarantee of ending up losing all.

This fear is what the big biz guys and gals are counting on to back them with NOT being mandated to offer a living wage. That is why they WANT their managers to secretly spread this fear throughout the company.

When people start to show discontent, fear becomes the best weapon to control. The fear here is the loss of essentials like the ability to afford food or/and a roof. One can even look at it like the bosses are holding a type of weapon on one's family to keep them in line.

A way to fight the fear is needed. If one is not found, the Corporations will keep winning.

Blanks

(4,835 posts)
7. As long as 47% of the country...
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 11:12 AM
Apr 2013

Votes for the Mitt Romneys of the world, nothing will be done.

That's close enough to a majority to stifle any action.

MrYikes

(720 posts)
8. Just like the republican montra
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 11:39 AM
Apr 2013

tell a lie often enough and it will be believed as truth.

If we tell the truth repeatedly, it will become known.

caseymoz

(5,763 posts)
11. What do you think the Occupy movement is?
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 12:23 PM
Apr 2013

But you see what happened there. They were beaten down. I hate to say the one percent have been very good at making sure no Roosevelt is elected again to screw them up. Meanwhile, we have a huge surveillance apparatus in place, a co-opted police force, and an unusually cruel for-profit prison system. Legal avenues to reversing the disparity are now scarce, or nonexistent. This leaves illegal ones with a practical certainty of being caught.

People seem apathetic, but if you scratch the surface, what's underneath is fear and anguish. We've learned to put up our best face and live around these emotions, hence the appearance of apathy. Or we do our best to ignore them, and make ourselves ignorant.

Without any alternatives, the only thing left is all out rebellion. And revolutions are perilous. They often fail and many people get killed, starve, get driven into poverty in the interim. They're high risk. The Soviet Union pretty much alienated people from them.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
12. Personally you'll find I'm an Occupy supporter
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 01:53 PM
Apr 2013

And advocate for it spreading.

The Enemy of Occupy are neo-liberal centrists - many of them in our midsts.

pampango

(24,692 posts)
15. As unequal as income is in China as of 2012 it is actually better than in the US.
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 02:18 PM
Apr 2013

Just when you think it can't get worse.

The way to improve income equality is not rocket science. The other developed countries, particularly those in Europe, but Canada, Australia, Japan and others too, do it without "reinventing the wheel."

Higher and progressive taxes coupled with protections for unions are the keys to improving income equality. Since republicans effectively prevent us from doing either of these, we search desperately for a 'new wheel' to invent to achieve income equality without progressive taxes and strong unions. It's not likely to happen without them and republicans know it.

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