Inequality in America is getting worse according to top economists

[kamuimac]

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/22/news...le_videocrpool





This is crazy. The bottom 50% is making 25K a year?
Half the country surviving on that? How do they even make ends meet !?!?
We need action. I can't believe people voted in the new guy who is gonna cut taxes on the rich.

good screw lazy scums who cba to find a decent job.

[cuafpr]

soon as someone can solve human greed, the issue fixes it self till then there isn't a "good" way to do it.

[Soeroah]

I don't think comparing everyone to the 1% makes a whole lot of sense. The 1% are outliers and in a totally different system from most people. Of course it matters, but it seems to me it would be more useful to compare the lower class to lower/upper middle class.

They're not in a "totally different system" when them getting such a huge proportion of the wealth means the majority literally cannot if they tried. As long as the 1% and the bottom 50% use the same currency, it doesn't matter if the 1% are outliers, especially when the main qualifier for them being outliers if how they have such a massive proportion of the total wealth.

[Draco-Onis]

soon as someone can solve human greed, the issue fixes it self till then there isn't a "good" way to do it.

Alternatively we can destroy a system that creates a bevy of loopholes, tax breaks that only benefit the very rich. We can also get change a political system that is driven by lobbying and donations where the vast majority of the population has no effect on policy. This is not just greed Washington has become a well oiled machine designed to screw the average American and that goes for both political parties.

[Varvara Spiros Gelashvili]

Liberals: "Let's expand immigration and ignore illegal immigration for the sake of diversity! Let's flood our labor pool with unskilled to educated immigrants willing to work far below market value for their work."

Business Owners/Corporations: "Thanks liberals!"

Liberals: "WTF, why is there so much income inequality? I don't understand!"

Business Owners/Corporations: "You can't be this fucking stupid?"

Way to deflect...

Hillary wanted to enforce are current laws and reform immigration.

[Daelak]

Not who you think, apparently. Hint: Central bank reserves.

Who do they loan to?

[Nadiru]

Who do they loan to?

They don't loan Treasury bills, you dummkopf. You've got the currency flows completely reversed: Non-central banks and global firms sell foreign currencies to banks in order to get usable deposits in their country. Non-central banks with foreign currency reserves can then either hold them for use in their foreign exchange services or trade them to central banks to get usable deposits

[cuafpr]

Alternatively we can destroy a system that creates a bevy of loopholes, tax breaks that only benefit the very rich. We can also get change a political system that is driven by lobbying and donations where the vast majority of the population has no effect on policy. This is not just greed Washington has become a well oiled machine designed to screw the average American and that goes for both political parties.

oh don't disagree but good luck getting the power to do that... US politics is for the rich only now, just to get started on a local level takes over 10k let alone national. We need a system were the average income level person can afford to run for office not only the super rich. The issue is overcoming greed to get the system changed, not many with wealth and power are willing to give that up.

[Daelak]

They don't loan Treasury bills, you dummkopf. You've got the currency flows completely reversed: Non-central banks and global firms sell foreign currencies to banks in order to get usable deposits in their country. Non-central banks with foreign currency reserves can then either hold them for use in their foreign exchange services or trade them to central banks to get usable deposits

They loan the funds to banks whose client use to purchase t-bills, among other financial instruments. Restricting the flow of purchases of t-bills by creating some sort of maximum quota, will force global investors to purchase other means of protection that US stability provides, like real estate or US businesses.

[Nadiru]

They loan the funds to banks whose client use to purchase t-bills, among other financial instruments. Restricting the flow of purchases of t-bills by creating some sort of maximum quota, will force global investors to purchase other means of protection that US stability provides, like real estate or US businesses.

Those means of protection don't provide currency leverage versus the USD, which will allow the USD to devalue versus foreign currencies which is useful if you're trying to bring back lost industry jobs (which you are in the interest of reducing income inequality.)

More importantly, purchasing non-bond American investments poses a risk premium which increases the real cost of investment in the US which reduces foreign investment in the US, reducing the US trade deficit and reducing debt loads on the Federal government directly, which means the Federal government now has more money to push into things you like, such as: Basic research, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, and infrastructure funding.

[Tennis]

good screw lazy scums who cba to find a decent job.

What if they aren't any jobs?

[Noomz]

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/22/news...le_videocrpool





This is crazy. The bottom 50% is making 25K a year?
Half the country surviving on that? How do they even make ends meet !?!?
We need action. I can't believe people voted in the new guy who is gonna cut taxes on the rich.

Let's just keep calling the bottom 50% lazy. Clearly, all they need to do is WANT it more. And evidently they dont want it enough. LOGICAL!

- - - Updated - - -

If this election has taught me anything, it's fuck the bottom half.

Yeah just make those idiots vote for you then forget them.

[melodramocracy]

good screw lazy scums who cba to find a decent job.

Every economic thread has that one guy who simply can't grasp the concept of limited opportunity. I'm surprised it took you this long to show up.

[Miyagie]

Let's just keep calling the bottom 50% lazy. Clearly, all they need to do is WANT it more. And evidently they dont want it enough. LOGICAL!

- - - Updated - - -

I wonder how many of this lazy 50% working at 2 jobs 12/14 hours a day.

[Revi]

They're not in a "totally different system" when them getting such a huge proportion of the wealth means the majority literally cannot if they tried. As long as the 1% and the bottom 50% use the same currency, it doesn't matter if the 1% are outliers, especially when the main qualifier for them being outliers if how they have such a massive proportion of the total wealth.

I meant most of them are in a different system of reward and wealth acquisition. At that level of wealth you have enough to invest and easily grow your wealth simply by the virtue of having money, something the bottom 50% can't do. The bottom 50% aren't usually in positions where doing a good job can give huge pay rises either.

There's just a lot of difference between very wealthy people, and people who earn wages mostly set by law or work-place policy. Not saying it doesn't matter, it does, but we shouldn't ignore everyone between the poorest and the richest.

I'd bet the inequality poor people face in their daily lives usually isn't when comparing themselves to people with 10 Lamborghinis, it's when looking at a middle-class that are so much better off than them.

[Masoner]

Oh no! What should we do????

Do what people have always done, stop waiting for someone else to do it for you and go out and take matters into your own hands. If you want to have more then you should seek way so achieve that.

[Nadiru]

I meant most of them are in a different system of reward and wealth acquisition. At that level of wealth you have enough to invest and easily grow your wealth simply by the virtue of having money, something the bottom 50% can't do. The bottom 50% aren't usually in positions where doing a good job can give huge pay rises either.

There's just a lot of difference between very wealthy people, and people who earn wages mostly set by law or work-place policy. Not saying it doesn't matter, it does, but we shouldn't ignore everyone between the poorest and the richest.

I'd bet the inequality poor people face in their daily lives usually isn't when comparing themselves to people with 10 Lamborghinis, it's when looking at a middle-class that are so much better off than them.

The 1% and the next 49% share a common system of wealth accrual, the difference is in scale. Middle class households have stock portfolios and investments; we're at what Gallup calls a record low, and it's still 52% of households.

And therein lies the rub for plans like raising the total capital gains tax, ignoring that capital gains taxes are only levied on specific kinds of capital gains. Not that the tax structure in the US is super relevant for discussing income inequality.

[Glorious Leader]

They loan the funds to banks whose client use to purchase t-bills, among other financial instruments. Restricting the flow of purchases of t-bills by creating some sort of maximum quota, will force global investors to purchase other means of protection that US stability provides, like real estate or US businesses.

Actually the chinese have tried to do this. Instead of simple taking more US debt they tried to buy into companies and buy assets. The national security establishment stopped them. It's incredible racist because theyll sell to other foreign governments but not to chinese.

[Nadiru]

Actually the chinese have tried to do this. Instead of simple taking more US debt they tried to buy into companies and buy assets. The national security establishment stopped them. It's incredible racist because theyll sell to other foreign governments but not to chinese.

Individual Chinese have tried; the government has tried to stop capital flight because it causes the yuan to valuate against the dollar. It hasn't worked so well.

[Glorious Leader]

Individual Chinese have tried; the government has tried to stop capital flight because it causes the yuan to valuate against the dollar. It hasn't worked so well.

Chinese firms have had some success buying shares is businesses in other western companies. The trudeau government okayd the purchase of an IT firm even though theirs potential that western secrets may be revealed. Theyve also been investing in real estate primarily in toronto and vancouver. Mostly speculative investment its caused something of a bubble.