The problem with the economy (big picture here) is that there isn't enough domestic demand because the working class (the bottom 95% of us all) do not have enough money to pay for our necessities. The reason we don't have enough money is because the GDP wealth increases found its way into the pockets of the top wealth holders and money makers and not into the pockets of the working who actually created this wealth with their own hands and minds. Since the beginning of the Reagan administration the GDP has grown an average of 1/2 a trillion a year. But this wealth was all captured by the wealthy and the real earnings and wealth of the bottom 95% has actually straight lined declined.
When the great recession hit in 2008, everybody lost wealth, but the loss by the bottom 95% was greater by proportion than the loss by the top 5%. And, the relative wealth of the wealthy compared to everybody else actually increased percentage wise.
I am going somewhere with this, Salt Jones, hang in there.
If our economy was an equitable one that was not so greatly biased in favor of the wealthy few, then more of the GDP would be in our working class hands instead of all going to the wealthy only. Then more of the midde class would have more taxable income with which to pay social security taxes and medicare taxes and save for retirement. Right now, the bottom 50% doesn't have enough money to pay any income taxes, let alone adequate funds for necessities.
So, Salt Jones, what we as an economy and society should do about your three concerns is to fix the legal and ecnonomical structure to more equitably compensate the working class and remove that damaging immoral bias in favor of the rich starting NOW and on into the future so that in the short term future there will be more revenues to the government to pay for entitlements. As the compensation and wealth flow to the working class is normalized fairly, there will be a time soon that there will not be as much of a drain on GDP as entitlements will decrease as income for the working class increases.
Also, starting now, we should absolutely increase the income tax rate on the wealthy much more than the 3% talked about now so as to recapture that inequitable economy-damaging wealth siphoned off by the wealthy during the past 30 years of our biased economy. In fact, I am for taxing wealth itself at the upper amounts so as to partially offset the lopsided concentration of wealth in this country in the hands of the wealthy few. Did you know that the USA is the second worst offfender of disparity of wealth in the world. Yeah, we recently suprassed corrupt Mexico! Deregulation and way too low tax rates on the rich contributed greatly to that disparity as well as diminishing unions and collective bargaining and all too favorable labor laws for the employers.
By the way, you do know that Reagan increase Social Security taxes to the extent that the working class has paid so much into the social security system that there is a surplus in the social security fund in the amount of $2 trillion?. The problem is that, beginning with Reagan, the government has consistently borrowed from the fund to have actually borrowed ALL of It at this point. But, be advised that we working class paid for a $2 trillion surplus! It's just been borrowed and spent.
Another important step to curing our malaise and rescuing our country from certain demise is to fix health care as it is a tremendous drain cost wise. We absolutely need a single payer system, just like medicare and restored bargaining rights by medicare to deal with the drug companies to get market prices for drugs. We also need to do something about patent laws, shorten the life of patents.
By getting more of the GDP in the hands of the working class and less in the hands of wealthy few, we will have a larger tax base with which to pay down the existing government debt and have the cash on hand to pay for infrastructure which will contribute to long term economic health and wealth creation. Aslo, we will have more money for education so that we can become competitive in the world market and enjoy a comparative benefit in the tech world since we have essentially lost our manufacturing industry to the developing countries.
The right wing is for all the wrong things: No regulation, No education spending, no infrastructure spending, lower taxes for the rich, no collective bargaining, reduction of social safety nets, no single payer healthcare system - all the things that make the rich richer and the working class poorer as it has since 1980. This will make the USA really hit bottom fast. We will be a poorer country for sure. Did you know our principal competitors are doing just the opposite of the right wing agenda?
When the great recession hit in 2008, everybody lost wealth, but the loss by the bottom 95% was greater by proportion than the loss by the top 5%. And, the relative wealth of the wealthy compared to everybody else actually increased percentage wise.
I am going somewhere with this, Salt Jones, hang in there.
If our economy was an equitable one that was not so greatly biased in favor of the wealthy few, then more of the GDP would be in our working class hands instead of all going to the wealthy only. Then more of the midde class would have more taxable income with which to pay social security taxes and medicare taxes and save for retirement. Right now, the bottom 50% doesn't have enough money to pay any income taxes, let alone adequate funds for necessities.
So, Salt Jones, what we as an economy and society should do about your three concerns is to fix the legal and ecnonomical structure to more equitably compensate the working class and remove that damaging immoral bias in favor of the rich starting NOW and on into the future so that in the short term future there will be more revenues to the government to pay for entitlements. As the compensation and wealth flow to the working class is normalized fairly, there will be a time soon that there will not be as much of a drain on GDP as entitlements will decrease as income for the working class increases.
Also, starting now, we should absolutely increase the income tax rate on the wealthy much more than the 3% talked about now so as to recapture that inequitable economy-damaging wealth siphoned off by the wealthy during the past 30 years of our biased economy. In fact, I am for taxing wealth itself at the upper amounts so as to partially offset the lopsided concentration of wealth in this country in the hands of the wealthy few. Did you know that the USA is the second worst offfender of disparity of wealth in the world. Yeah, we recently suprassed corrupt Mexico! Deregulation and way too low tax rates on the rich contributed greatly to that disparity as well as diminishing unions and collective bargaining and all too favorable labor laws for the employers.
By the way, you do know that Reagan increase Social Security taxes to the extent that the working class has paid so much into the social security system that there is a surplus in the social security fund in the amount of $2 trillion?. The problem is that, beginning with Reagan, the government has consistently borrowed from the fund to have actually borrowed ALL of It at this point. But, be advised that we working class paid for a $2 trillion surplus! It's just been borrowed and spent.
Another important step to curing our malaise and rescuing our country from certain demise is to fix health care as it is a tremendous drain cost wise. We absolutely need a single payer system, just like medicare and restored bargaining rights by medicare to deal with the drug companies to get market prices for drugs. We also need to do something about patent laws, shorten the life of patents.
By getting more of the GDP in the hands of the working class and less in the hands of wealthy few, we will have a larger tax base with which to pay down the existing government debt and have the cash on hand to pay for infrastructure which will contribute to long term economic health and wealth creation. Aslo, we will have more money for education so that we can become competitive in the world market and enjoy a comparative benefit in the tech world since we have essentially lost our manufacturing industry to the developing countries.
The right wing is for all the wrong things: No regulation, No education spending, no infrastructure spending, lower taxes for the rich, no collective bargaining, reduction of social safety nets, no single payer healthcare system - all the things that make the rich richer and the working class poorer as it has since 1980. This will make the USA really hit bottom fast. We will be a poorer country for sure. Did you know our principal competitors are doing just the opposite of the right wing agenda?
