Skirting Around the Solutions To Income Inequality

[TexasTowelie]

By Carol Morgan

If politicians think an increase in the minimum wage is going to satisfy the masses, they are strangely naïve. If they persist in believe the fairy tale of “trickle down”, then they are strangely misinformed.

Look back at similar times in American history. During the gilded age, the richest 1% of Americans earned about 18% of all income. In 2007, it worsened with the top 1% accounting for 24% of all income. As of 2011, the top 1% controls 40% of all wealth. And that’s while everyone else’s wealth decreased and prices for basic amenities increased. To add insult to injury, the income of the 1% increased and their taxes decreased. According to statistics from the IRS, the 400 taxpayers with the highest incomes from 1992-2007 saw their income increase 392%, while the average tax rate decreased to a -37%.

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Of course, we need to increase the minimum wage, but that’s not enough. We need to tax the 1% at the same levels that created a prosperous America. We need to have single payer health insurance or better yet, free national healthcare. The ACA is somewhat of an improvement, but it’s merely a compromise to allow insurance companies to remain the same industry that gets rich from exploiting Americans. Our fate is still in the hands of our original abusers—the corporateurs. They’ve retained their license to steal and mine Americans’ greatest fears.

We need to say “no” to more cuts to the social safety net programs and leave Social Security alone. And while we’re at it, we need to move to real political campaign reform by having elections federally funded—no more PAC’s, no more corporate money from a Mississippi bank that controls a Texas campaign.

The complete blog by Carol is at http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/carol-morgan/2013-12-05/skirting-around-solutions-income-inequality .