Papantonio: Generational Income Gap Is Destroying Young People Financially

[GoLeft TV]

Run time: 09:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjZWk9JyV-c   Posted on YouTube: November 23, 2011 By YouTube Member: golefttv Views on YouTube: 27   Posted on DU: November 23, 2011 By DU Member: GoLeft TV Views on DU: 698

 
Unlike the “Don’t Tax Me” Tea Party, the members of the Occupy Movement tend to be young adults who are struggling to find work. And there’s a reason why this generation is becoming increasingly angry at corporate America. Studies show that young Americans are now falling way behind in income, while the older generations hold almost half of all the wealth in America. Mike Papantonio discusses the generational income gap with Alternet editor and senior writer, Josh Holland.

Read The Full Article Here: http://www.alternet.org/economy/153012/pew_report_on_young-old_wealth_gap_is_misleading_and_divisive%3B_could_fuel_intergenerational_class_war

[JDPriestly]

1. Yes. The 401(K)s are the reason for the seeming disparity in wealth.

Back maybe 50-200 years ago, the wealth of most families was in the ownership of land -- usually farmland. This is almost a worldwide phenomenon. The patriarchs owned the land. A son worked the land and then looked forward to inheriting the land, possibly paying some compensation to his siblings at his father's debt.

I remember hearing a radio program in Austria about how many rural women, especially prior to 1920, upon the death of their husband, were left virtually penniless. The children had to care for their impoverished mothers and did so, often enough, reluctantly. As a result very elderly women would travel from the home of one child to the home of another child over the course of the year.

We rely on income taxes and low sales taxes for government revenue. Thanks to cheap imports from low-wage countries, American wages are remaining the same or decreasing, so tax revenues are down. Property taxes could be raised, but at a time when people cannot even pay their mortgages, where are they to find the money to pay higher property taxes?

The best solution is to tax imports. Our trade agreements don't permit that. But we could have high, even very high VAT taxes -- value added taxes -- that would impose the tax burden on imports and domestic products equally.

Personally, I think that is the only way to fund education and other public projects that we need.