America Keeps People Poor On Purpose-A Timeline of Choices We've Made

[n2doc]

This infographic was featured in The End Of Poverty, the Fall 2014 issue of YES! Magazine. It was adapted from Who Stole the American Dream? by Hedrick Smith. Random House Publishing Group, 2012, 592 pages.


http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-end-of-poverty/inequality-the-choices-we-ve-made

[riderinthestorm]

1. Wow! Stunning and so sad. K &R nt

[daleanime]

2. K&R....

[LongTomH]

3. K&R for truth

What the big rich have done to American workers comes under the heading of Highway Robbery!

[JEB]

4. K&R for exposure.

Both parties have contributed to this abuse that endangers our society.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Can't publicize the Powell Memo too much ... every American should know about it. nt

[niyad]

6. k and most assuredly R for this very necessary thread!

[Louisiana1976]

7. America needs a socialist government.

[rhett o rick]

8. I am currently reading Hendrick Smith's book, "Who Stole the American Dream."

Excellent book. Thanks for posting.

[fleabiscuit]

9. K & R, n/t

[TBF]

10. One million jobs lost and counting ...

Since NAFTA went into effect:

NAFTA at 20: One Million U.S. Jobs Lost, Higher Income Inequality
Posted: 01/06/2014 3:19 pm EST Updated: 03/08/2014 5:59 am EST

My New Year's celebrations this year were haunted by memories of January 1, 1994 -- the day that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect. I remember crying that day, thinking about the proud men and women in union halls across America, the Mexican campesinos and the inspiring Canadian activists I had met during the fight against NAFTA, and hoping desperately that our dire predictions would be proved wrong.

They were not. In short order, the damage started. And, we started to document it.

For NAFTA's unhappy 20th anniversary, Public Citizen has published a report that details the wreckage. Not only did promises made by NAFTA's proponents not materialize, but many results are exactly the opposite.

Such outcomes include a staggering $181 billion U.S. trade deficit with NAFTA partners Mexico and Canada and the related loss of 1 million net U.S. jobs under NAFTA, growing income inequality, displacement of more than one million Mexican campesino farmers and a doubling of desperate immigration from Mexico, and more than $360 million paid to corporations after "investor-state" tribunal attacks on, and rollbacks of, domestic public interest policies ...

More here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lori-wallach/nafta-at-20-one-million-u_b_4550207.html

[Enthusiast]

13. +1

[DirkGently]

11. 1999 Bill Clinton signs Graham-Leach Bliley

... effectively repealing the Glass-Stegall Act, thus eliminating the bar to banks acting as investment houses and insurance companies all at the same time. Although these protections has already been significantly weakened, Clinton put the final nail in the coffin of the post-Depression banking reform which had heretofore prevented a repeat of the wild speculative bubbles that led to America's previous financial collapse.

Bit odd they left that out while mentioning Clinton's tax increases as a boon to middle-class wages.

Clinton's ill-advised enthusiasm for de-regulating financial markets deserves as much negative attention as the myriad Republican efforts here.

[Enthusiast]

14. +1 You nailed it.

[hfojvt]

19. they also left out Clinton's tax CUTS

and how Obama made most of the Bush tax cuts permanent, and so on.

Apparently the list here is more about partisanship than actual information, although some of it is new to me. Other things that I am aware of, are not mentioned, and could be and should be.

[WillyT]

12. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[Enthusiast]

15. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!

December 2009 Germany ends decade with $2 trillion trade surplus, 21 percent of work force in manufacturing; United States had $6 trillion trade deficit, 9 percent employed in manufacturing. 1985-2009 Average hourly German wage rose 30 percent versus 5 percent in the United States.

This is what is possible when your elected representative do not consider you to be an enemy that needs to be put in your place (Think Reagan's hatred of US workers).

How much longer will we put up with this deliberate bullshit? The architects of this mess should be called out constantly. Starting with DLC Bill Clinton and the rest of the Reagan Democrats.

[mb999]

16. We're seeing the true face of capitalism

it's one giant pyramid scam. The parasite oligarchs at the top have it all and they trickle down crumbs on the rest of us. The workers are ENTITLED to share in the prosperity they helped to create. This country is more than wealthy enough that nobody here should be in poverty. we should have a national healthcare system that covers everybody. Our public infrastructure should in much better shape. capitalism needs to be replaced and Americans need to "take back" their country from this stateless billionaire corporate elites. its funny how the elite shows no loyalty to the country that enabled them to accumulate obscene amounts of wealth, and they will jump from country to country and offshore assets to avoid taxation.

[Initech]

17. George Carlin said it best:

"The rich make all the money, pay none of the taxes. The middle class pays all the taxes, does all the work. And the poor are there just to scare the shit out of the middle class. Keep them showing up at those jobs!!!!"

[hfojvt]

18. interesting

wish they would mention statute numbers though. Specific legislation, like ERTA, and ATRA has made a difference.

I will look again, probably, when I get home from work.