So now you know what the distribution of wealth really is. So how does this affect you in your everyday life? It is really pretty simple. The more concentrated the money is, the less money the average person has. When our economy was strong, 70% of it was from consumer spending. When the consumers don't have money to spend, it is impossible to maintain that 70% consumer spending that we saw in the strong economy. The wealthy don't need more money and it is harmful to our economy because they don't spend it. When spending shrinks, the economy shrinks.
Quality of life will also shrink for most of us. We won't be able to afford the same level of housing, food consumption (hello ramen for dinner!), gas consumption, vacations, reliable cars, all of the things you spend money on. You won't, or likely already don't, have the same amount of disposable income that you once had. And all the signs point to it getting worse, but no one wants to say that.
As consumer spending drops, businesses will shrink. As businesses shrink, more people will lose their jobs. Which leads to more unemployment, and we already have enough of that. Yes, the unemployment numbers look better, but that is because it is only accounting for people that are collecting unemployment. It doesn't account for those long term people whose unemployment benefits have run out. Or people like my boyfriend who finished school and then couldn't find a job. Because his pay in school came from grants, he didn't qualify for unemployment. The numbers you see in the media are misleading. And I hate the term "people who have given up looking for work". Who has given up looking for work? As long as you have a home and bills, you will be looking for a way to pay for them. And that will require work.
So what can we do? Well, we can make the capital gains tax equal to the tax on money that is earned for starters. We don't need to tax the rich more because that wouldn't be fair. However, them paying a lower tax rate on capital gains isn't fair either. Make them equal. We can eliminate the tax break for corporations on meals and entertainment. We could end the subsidies on oil, but we would then need to be prepared for higher gas prices.
We do need to cut spending, but the austerity implemented by the sequester isn't the answer. That is going to hurt people, without any kind of help. No one likes to pay taxes, but when you live in a society there is a responsibility to take care of each other. A country is only as good as its population. If the citizens are suffering, like the citizens of the United States are, the country looks weak. Eventually we will look (be) a third world country, with even more people living in the streets, an uneducated population, and a country full of sick people that won't have access to health care (which means we will have a work force that is unproductive and ineffective). This is not the path we should take. We don't need to do this! It doesn't have to be this way!
How we got here is a long story, but next week I will begin to explain that. We will go back to 2008, and examine what went wrong, who did it, and why they did it. Until then, write your senators and congressional representatives. Tell them you want a fair and balanced system. Tell them you will not sell out the poor and the middle class to feed an elite rich class of people. Is it class warfare? You bet it is, but the poor and middle class did not start it. The rich started it by pillaging the middle class, and the poor. Someone once said that the end result of capitalism is one person ends up with all the money, and we are starting to see that now, but it doesn't have to be that way. Demand jobs that pay a living wage. Demand equal taxation. Demand that the people you elected take care of you, and if they don't then don't vote for them again. Read about the financial crash. Learn about what happened, and how you, the average person, were completely ripped off.
Until then, much love to you all and (((HIPPIE HUGS)))
Luci
No comments:
Post a Comment