Economic Inequality = Political Inequality

[georgephillip]

If voter participation is the best means for measuring civic and political engagement, what does it say about political equality in the US when voters whose income is in the top 20% experience a nearly 100% turn-out while voters in the bottom group participate at less than a three-quarters rate?

It means the principle that says each person carries equal weight in the conduct of public business in the US is being crucified on a cross of gold:

"And that something (that depresses voter turnout) is income inequality, as a new report from the OECD on the Better Life Index shows. Of the thirty-four countries included in the report, the U.S. ranks second to last in social inequality, bested only by South Korea.

"When it comes to income inequality we are at the extreme end of the scale, with levels similar to those of Cameroon, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Nepal and Uganda."

Income Inequality Keeps Poorer Americans Away from the Polls | The Nation

Twenty-eight percent fewer voters among the bottom quintile will bother casting a vote next November because they know the 1% have already decided the outcome in their favor.

Something that will never change by "choosing" between Republican OR Democrat in the voting booth.

 

[waltky]

"It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few...

Stark inequality: Oxfam says 8 men as rich as half the world
Jan 15,`17 -- The gap between the super-rich and the poorest half of the global population is starker than previously thought, with just eight men, from Bill Gates to Michael Bloomberg, owning as much wealth as 3.6 billion people, according to an analysis by Oxfam released Monday.

Presenting its findings on the dawn of the annual gathering of the global political and business elites in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, anti-poverty organization Oxfam says the gap between the very rich and poor is far greater than just a year ago. It's urging leaders to do more than pay lip-service to the problem. If not, it warns, public anger against this kind of inequality will continue to grow and lead to more seismic political changes akin to last year's election of Donald Trump as U.S. president and Britain's vote to leave the European Union. "It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few when 1 in 10 people survive on less than $2 a day," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International, who will be attending the meeting in Davos. "Inequality is trapping hundreds of millions in poverty; it is fracturing our societies and undermining democracy."

The same report a year earlier said that the richest 62 people on the planet owned as much wealth as the bottom half of the population. However, Oxfam has revised that figure down to eight following new information gathered by Swiss bank Credit Suisse. Oxfam used Forbes' billionaires list that was last published in March 2016 to make its headline claim. According to the Forbes list, Microsoft founder Gates is the richest individual with a net worth of $75 billion. The others, in order of ranking, are Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of fashion house Inditex, financier Warren Buffett, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle's Larry Ellison and Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

Workers unload bricks at a brick-making factory in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. As bricks continue to be used in construction throughout Myanmar, traditional craftsmen who produce hand-made bricks are facing competition from machine-made bricks which are produced more efficiently.​

Oxfam outlined measures that it hopes will be enacted to help reduce the inequality. They include higher taxes on wealth and income to ensure a more level playing field and to fund investments in public services and jobs, greater cooperation among governments on ensuring workers are paid decently and the rich don't dodge their taxes. And business leaders should commit to paying their fair share of taxes and a living wage to employees. Max Lawson, Oxfam's policy adviser, urged billionaires to "do the right thing," and to do "what Bill Gates has called on them to do, which is pay their taxes."

The ability of the rich to avoid paying their fair share of taxes was vividly exposed last year in the so-called "Panama Papers," a leaked trove of data that revealed details on offshore accounts that helped individuals shelter their wealth. "We have a situation where billionaires are paying less tax often than their cleaner or their secretary," Lawson told The Associated Press. "That's crazy." It's because of this kind of inequality that trust in institutions has fallen sharply since the global financial crisis of 2008, according to Edelman, one of the world's biggest marketing firms. In its own pre-Davos survey of more than 33,000 people across 28 markets, Edelman found the largest-ever drop in trust across government, business, media and even non-governmental organizations. CEO credibility is at an all-time low and government leaders are the least trusted group, according to the survey.

MORE

 

[georgephillip]

"It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few...

Stark inequality: Oxfam says 8 men as rich as half the world
Jan 15,`17 -- The gap between the super-rich and the poorest half of the global population is starker than previously thought, with just eight men, from Bill Gates to Michael Bloomberg, owning as much wealth as 3.6 billion people, according to an analysis by Oxfam released Monday.

Presenting its findings on the dawn of the annual gathering of the global political and business elites in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, anti-poverty organization Oxfam says the gap between the very rich and poor is far greater than just a year ago. It's urging leaders to do more than pay lip-service to the problem. If not, it warns, public anger against this kind of inequality will continue to grow and lead to more seismic political changes akin to last year's election of Donald Trump as U.S. president and Britain's vote to leave the European Union. "It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few when 1 in 10 people survive on less than $2 a day," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International, who will be attending the meeting in Davos. "Inequality is trapping hundreds of millions in poverty; it is fracturing our societies and undermining democracy."

The same report a year earlier said that the richest 62 people on the planet owned as much wealth as the bottom half of the population. However, Oxfam has revised that figure down to eight following new information gathered by Swiss bank Credit Suisse. Oxfam used Forbes' billionaires list that was last published in March 2016 to make its headline claim. According to the Forbes list, Microsoft founder Gates is the richest individual with a net worth of $75 billion. The others, in order of ranking, are Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of fashion house Inditex, financier Warren Buffett, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle's Larry Ellison and Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

Workers unload bricks at a brick-making factory in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. As bricks continue to be used in construction throughout Myanmar, traditional craftsmen who produce hand-made bricks are facing competition from machine-made bricks which are produced more efficiently.​

Oxfam outlined measures that it hopes will be enacted to help reduce the inequality. They include higher taxes on wealth and income to ensure a more level playing field and to fund investments in public services and jobs, greater cooperation among governments on ensuring workers are paid decently and the rich don't dodge their taxes. And business leaders should commit to paying their fair share of taxes and a living wage to employees. Max Lawson, Oxfam's policy adviser, urged billionaires to "do the right thing," and to do "what Bill Gates has called on them to do, which is pay their taxes."

The ability of the rich to avoid paying their fair share of taxes was vividly exposed last year in the so-called "Panama Papers," a leaked trove of data that revealed details on offshore accounts that helped individuals shelter their wealth. "We have a situation where billionaires are paying less tax often than their cleaner or their secretary," Lawson told The Associated Press. "That's crazy." It's because of this kind of inequality that trust in institutions has fallen sharply since the global financial crisis of 2008, according to Edelman, one of the world's biggest marketing firms. In its own pre-Davos survey of more than 33,000 people across 28 markets, Edelman found the largest-ever drop in trust across government, business, media and even non-governmental organizations. CEO credibility is at an all-time low and government leaders are the least trusted group, according to the survey.

MORE

I don't think it's a coincidence when eight billionaires amass more wealth than the poorest 3.6 billion human beings. Capitalism produces goods solely for those with enough money to buy them; production is profit-based rather than based on human need. This accumulation of capital from profit, as opposed to economic growth, explains why tens of millions of humans die from malnutrition every year while, at the same time, Bill and Mike and Larry and Mark and Jeff and Warren and a couple of other useless eaters acquire more wealth than the poorest 3.6 billion people. I wonder if that trend will continue?

 

[Norman]

"It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few...

Stark inequality: Oxfam says 8 men as rich as half the world
Jan 15,`17 -- The gap between the super-rich and the poorest half of the global population is starker than previously thought, with just eight men, from Bill Gates to Michael Bloomberg, owning as much wealth as 3.6 billion people, according to an analysis by Oxfam released Monday.

Presenting its findings on the dawn of the annual gathering of the global political and business elites in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, anti-poverty organization Oxfam says the gap between the very rich and poor is far greater than just a year ago. It's urging leaders to do more than pay lip-service to the problem. If not, it warns, public anger against this kind of inequality will continue to grow and lead to more seismic political changes akin to last year's election of Donald Trump as U.S. president and Britain's vote to leave the European Union. "It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few when 1 in 10 people survive on less than $2 a day," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International, who will be attending the meeting in Davos. "Inequality is trapping hundreds of millions in poverty; it is fracturing our societies and undermining democracy."

The same report a year earlier said that the richest 62 people on the planet owned as much wealth as the bottom half of the population. However, Oxfam has revised that figure down to eight following new information gathered by Swiss bank Credit Suisse. Oxfam used Forbes' billionaires list that was last published in March 2016 to make its headline claim. According to the Forbes list, Microsoft founder Gates is the richest individual with a net worth of $75 billion. The others, in order of ranking, are Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of fashion house Inditex, financier Warren Buffett, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle's Larry Ellison and Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

Workers unload bricks at a brick-making factory in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. As bricks continue to be used in construction throughout Myanmar, traditional craftsmen who produce hand-made bricks are facing competition from machine-made bricks which are produced more efficiently.​

Oxfam outlined measures that it hopes will be enacted to help reduce the inequality. They include higher taxes on wealth and income to ensure a more level playing field and to fund investments in public services and jobs, greater cooperation among governments on ensuring workers are paid decently and the rich don't dodge their taxes. And business leaders should commit to paying their fair share of taxes and a living wage to employees. Max Lawson, Oxfam's policy adviser, urged billionaires to "do the right thing," and to do "what Bill Gates has called on them to do, which is pay their taxes."

The ability of the rich to avoid paying their fair share of taxes was vividly exposed last year in the so-called "Panama Papers," a leaked trove of data that revealed details on offshore accounts that helped individuals shelter their wealth. "We have a situation where billionaires are paying less tax often than their cleaner or their secretary," Lawson told The Associated Press. "That's crazy." It's because of this kind of inequality that trust in institutions has fallen sharply since the global financial crisis of 2008, according to Edelman, one of the world's biggest marketing firms. In its own pre-Davos survey of more than 33,000 people across 28 markets, Edelman found the largest-ever drop in trust across government, business, media and even non-governmental organizations. CEO credibility is at an all-time low and government leaders are the least trusted group, according to the survey.

MORE

About half the world has debt, so it's not a staggering achievement to... not have debt.

Once again, libs being illiterate in economics. That's what happens when you take your advice from father Marx. You end up so broke that a single guy has more wealth than all of you combined. Let that be the warning.

 

[Manonthestreet]

Btw those are all libs not paying their fair share........

 

[Manonthestreet]

And your equation does not compute.........How much money you have has no bearing on how often you vote

 

[georgephillip]

And your equation does not compute.........How much money you have has no bearing on how often you vote

How much money you have does correlate with whether or not you vote.

Income Inequality Keeps Poorer Americans Away from the Polls

" Across all OECD countries, individual income has an effect on whether citizens show up at the polls, with an average 7 percent jump for those who are in the top 20 percent versus those in the bottom 20 percent.

"Things are far, far worse here at home, though.

"Those whose income is in the top 20 percent experience a near 100 percent turnout rate, making full use of their right to vote. But the rate for those in the bottom group is less than three-quarters.

"That makes for a whopping 28 percent gap between the two on election day, which again seems only to be beaten by South Korea. On top of this, those with more education—also often tied to income—are more likely to vote than less educated people, likely augmenting the phenomenon."

 

[Manonthestreet]

Or maybe successful people are simply more responsible.......Again you have shown no proof wealth is the cause

 

[initforme]

And class warfare is in american right????? It is unacceptable right? Lmao at america...I got mine....if you don't have yours its your fault. This is america now. It is STRICTLY about personal responsibility and nothing about the country. At last I can wipe my boots on my flag and be proud....there are some greadse stains on my flag as my wood cutting boots have leaked on it. But it does absorb grease nicely.

 

[initforme]

TThe flag soaks up grease like a sponge.....!good deal

 

[georgephillip]

Or maybe successful people are simply more responsible.......Again you have shown no proof wealth is the cause

Rich people vote more often than poor people regardless of cause, and their political representatives pay more attention to the opinions of rich voters

https://www.russellsage.org/sites/all/files/u4/Bartels EIPR.pdf

"On average, my estimates suggest that constituents at the 75th percentile of the income distribution have almost three times as much influence on senators’ general voting patterns as those at the 25th percentile, and several times as much influence on specific salient roll call votes."

 

[Manonthestreet]

Again. NO proof of cause and effect.......Perhaps you could tell us why poor don't vote.....Btw I doubt your figs are accurate to begin with....

 

[initforme]

Flag soaking up new bar oil for chainsaw as we speak.

 

[georgephillip]

Again. NO proof of cause and effect.......Perhaps you could tell us why poor don't vote.....Btw I doubt your figs are accurate to begin with....

Why do you think I'm required to tell you why rich people vote more often than poor people?
If you doubt the figures I quoted, produce a few credible contrary numbers.

Income Inequality Keeps Poorer Americans Away from the Polls

"While the Great Recession certainly exacerbated income inequality, it was a trend thirty years in the making. The gap between the after-tax income of the richest 1 percent of Americans and the 99 percent more than tripled over the last three decades. And there’s no sign that the trend is going to do anything but continue on. As the gulf between the rich and the poor continues to expand, expect voter turnout among those who are most affected to fall into the void."

 

[Manonthestreet]

So you got nothing but your propaganda which you don't question in any way....

 

[BrokeLoser]

And your equation does not compute.........How much money you have has no bearing on how often you vote

How much money you have does correlate with whether or not you vote.

Income Inequality Keeps Poorer Americans Away from the Polls

" Across all OECD countries, individual income has an effect on whether citizens show up at the polls, with an average 7 percent jump for those who are in the top 20 percent versus those in the bottom 20 percent.

"Things are far, far worse here at home, though.

"Those whose income is in the top 20 percent experience a near 100 percent turnout rate, making full use of their right to vote. But the rate for those in the bottom group is less than three-quarters.

"That makes for a whopping 28 percent gap between the two on election day, which again seems only to be beaten by South Korea. On top of this, those with more education—also often tied to income—are more likely to vote than less educated people, likely augmenting the phenomenon."

I think the iQ inequality is the real difference. Poor voter turn out by the poor is just another byproduct of ignorance. Folks who have chosen to be uneducated, lazy and poor have indirectly decided not to vote...it's just that simple and there are no complexities here.

And class warfare is in american right????? It is unacceptable right? Lmao at america...I got mine....if you don't have yours its your fault. This is america now. It is STRICTLY about personal responsibility and nothing about the country. At last I can wipe my boots on my flag and be proud....there are some greadse stains on my flag as my wood cutting boots have leaked on it. But it does absorb grease nicely.

Some people and especially certain cultures find life easier and perhaps even more 'pleasurable' being uneducated, lazy and poor. They ignore all available FREE resources as if they aren't even available to them. The sooner you realize that people choose to struggle the sooner you'll stop thinking like Robin Hood.
"You can lead a horse to water but you can't force it to drink."
"You can't turn a sows ear to a silk purse."

TThe flag soaks up grease like a sponge.....!good deal

You're not that guy with seven children and four ex-wives that I send an EBT card to every month and then whines and bitches that I'm not sending enough are you?
There's a beautiful country just to the south of me that would love to have you...sounds like you'd fit right in with all those 'high quality' humans down there....why stay?

 

[initforme]

Nah...I'm retired. My american flag lies on my basement floor...used like a door mat. Keeps my boots dry.

 

[georgephillip]

So you got nothing but your propaganda which you don't question in any way....

Point out the "propaganda"

Income Inequality Keeps Poorer Americans Away from the Polls

" This has a huge impact on voter turnout. Across all OECD countries, individual income has an effect on whether citizens show up at the polls, with an average 7 percent jump for those who are in the top 20 percent versus those in the bottom 20 percent. Things are far, far worse here at home, though. Those whose income is in the top 20 percent experience a near 100 percent turnout rate, making full use of their right to vote. But the rate for those in the bottom group is less than three-quarters. That makes for a whopping 28 percent gap between the two on election day, which again seems only to be beaten by South Korea. On top of this, those with more education—also often tied to income—are more likely to vote than less educated people, likely augmenting the phenomenon."

Do you have any reason to suspect the accuracy of the above numbers?

 

[georgephillip]

I think the iQ inequality is the real difference. Poor voter turn out by the poor is just another byproduct of ignorance. Folks who have chosen to be uneducated, lazy and poor have indirectly decided not to vote...it's just that simple and there are no complexities here.

How have those born into poverty "chosen" to be "uneducated, lazy, and poor..."? Did you choose your parents or your IQ? Did you pre-select your skin color or the tax base of the communities you grew up in? Between 1865 and 1967 more than 400 Jim Crow-type laws legalized segregation in all areas of US life; today's African Americans are still paying for that level of ignorance and cowardice.
Jim Crow Legacy Continues Today