Paul Krugman- The Insecure American

[n2doc]

America remains, despite the damage inflicted by the Great Recession and its aftermath, a very rich country. But many Americans are economically insecure, with little protection from life’s risks. They frequently experience financial hardship; many don’t expect to be able to retire, and if they do retire have little to live on besides Social Security.

Many readers will, I hope, find nothing surprising in what I just said. But all too many affluent Americans — and, in particular, members of our political elite — seem to have no sense of how the other half lives. Which is why a new study on the financial well-being of U.S. households, conducted by the Federal Reserve, should be required reading inside the Beltway.

Before I get to that study, a few words about the callous obliviousness so prevalent in our political life.

I am not, or not only, talking about right-wing contempt for the poor, although the dominance of compassionless conservatism is a sight to behold. According to the Pew Research Center, more than three-quarters of conservatives believe that the poor “have it easy” thanks to government benefits; only 1 in 7 believe that the poor “have hard lives.” And this attitude translates into policy. What we learn from the refusal of Republican-controlled states to expand Medicaid, even though the federal government would foot the bill, is that punishing the poor has become a goal in itself, one worth pursuing even if it hurts rather than helps state budgets.

But leave self-declared conservatives and their contempt for the poor on one side. What’s really striking is the disconnect between centrist conventional wisdom and the reality of life — and death — for much of the nation.

more

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/opinion/paul-krugman-the-insecure-american.html?smid=re-share&_r=0

[pampango]

1. That insecurity is used to make people suspicious of poor people and poor countries in the search

for scapegoats to explain why we are so insecure.

People in progressive countries like Germany or Sweden are not that insecure so they do not look at poor people and poor countries as adversaries the same way that too many Americans do.

[RadiationTherapy]

2. In recent years I have personally redefined "wealth" to mean security and influence in

one's surroundings. The wealth = luxury propaganda doesn't resonate with me anymore. This article has reinforced that.

[Doctor_J]

3. Fox and hate radio have gotten the poor to despise each other. They would rather get wet

than share an umbrella with "those people"