Obama Cites Pope Francis To Attack Income Inequality And Call For Minimum Wage Increase

[Purveyor]

Conservatives angered by Pope Francis’ recent attacks on capitalism and wealth inequality aren’t going to like hearing President Barack Obama’s approval of them.

The president said Wednesday that growing income inequality had “frayed” the basic bargain at the heart of the U.S. economy during an event sponsored by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank with close ties to the White House.

“Some of you may have seen just last week the pope himself spoke about this at eloquent length,” Obama said. “’How can it be,’ he wrote, ‘that it’s not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points.’ But this increasing inequality is most pronounced in our country. And it challenges the very essence of who we are as a people.”

The president noted that the American economy had doubled in size since 1979, but most of that growth has been restricted to a “fortunate few.”

“The 10 percent no longer takes in one-third of our income, it now takes half,” Obama said. “Whereas in the past the average CEO made about 20 to 30 times the income of the average worker, today’s CEO now makes 273 times more, and meanwhile a family in the top 1 percent has a net worth of 288 times higher than the typical family, which is a record for this country.”

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/04/obama-cites-pope-francis-to-attack-income-inequality-and-call-for-minimum-wage-increase/

[Oscarmonster13]

1. I just looked up the federal minimum wage

it's only $7.25/hr! WTF?

I was talking to a friend yesterday and she thought it was $10...I knew it was less than that, but now THAT low!

I think I made $7.25 at my first retail job in 1986... how the HELL could anyone live on that now?
Hell, it's hard enough to live on $10... And if you are on any social services, there is no gradation, you just fall of the fucking cliff once you make too much. So that $10 doesn't go far at all. I remember a few years ago I was making $12 for an electrical contractor. I got a raise to $12.50 and all of a sudden, I had NO coverage for daycare...so it was like LOSING money instead of getting a raise.

This is a common occurrence for lower wage earners, and should be addressed instead of just raising the minimum wage, we have to look at social services and match the benefits to ASSIST people instead of punishing them for trying to work and make things better.

What upsets me is that I can talk till I am blue in the face (ha! blue!) but it won't make a difference in the end what the Govt does...because all of them are completely clueless and would rather punish the poorest workers than lift them up...As much as I am glad Obama is saying this out loud, I fear it won't make a damn difference on the ground when all is said & done

[Cha]

2. I bet that burns the 1% and those pimping for

them!

[Enrique]

3. now the media has no excuse for ignoring it

noticed that david Gregory interviewed a cardinal on mtp and did not ask about Francis' s attack on gop economics.

now obama has escalated the issue and they are obligated to cover it, and ask republicans to answer. not that they will, necessarily. we will see.

[Kingofalldems]

4. Kick and Rec for St. Joseph

[rug]

5. Here's the video.