Although the country is in a long-term economic growth phase, Fed data shows that middle-income people are now less likely to own homes, or stocks. Meanwhile, “the one percent” are doing great. When it comes to elections, ‘It’s the economy, stupid!’ But even though more people have jobs now, can Democrats harness the wealth gap to win the White House in 2020?
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Growing Inequality: Can Democrats Harness Wealth Gap to Win White House in 2020?
Although the country is in a long-term economic growth phase, Fed data shows that middle-income people are now less likely to own homes, or stocks. Meanwhile, “the one percent” are doing great. When it comes to elections, It’s the economy, stupid. But even thought more people have jobs now, can Democrats harness the wealth gap to win the White House in 2020?
8 replies on “Growing Inequality: Can Democrats Harness Wealth Gap to Win White House in 2020?”
I usually don’t find myself disagreeing with Bill, but when it comes to employee rights, you have to walk a tight rope between fair business practices and fair wages and situations when both employer and employee take advantage of their work or their employees.
I speak for myself, and also for the future labor force of this country, if manufacturing continues to leave the country while leaning is further and further into a food economy and importer, with big business dominating the latter industry with distribution centers and a more affordable product.
I work in one of these distribution centers. Food comes from all over the country, and even outside the country. Food products mostly. This is only becoming a greater and greater concern due to the huge amounts of preservatives required to maintain this kind of enterprise. But food safety is another topic for a different day. But notice the increase in skin issues AND psoriasis infomercials lately?
Anyway. I’ve worked for this distribution center for 12 years now, next month. I can tell you that even though we have been union for longer than I’ve been employed at this facility, doesn’t change the fact that the union is in the companies pocket. That is not conspiratorial theory. It is fact. I have made grievances against the company on various issues ranging from 90 minute freezer breaks being forbidden to all employees because of technicalities involving the word ‘continuous’ which the chose to interpret their own way, even after an employee lost a finger from frostbite. This is a blast freezer the size of a warehouse in California, where these things are nearly constantly on in the summer and some employees find themselves to be under them directly. I have also proved that many order selectors were receiving 5-6 minute breaks due to the size of the facility and that the company somehow imagined that we could travel this immense warehouse and take our break in a Total of 12 minutes. Did I resolve the issue. Yes. Did I sue? No, even though it may have reached 25 million dollars alone, not including physical and mental damages this has lead to. Yes. I know someone who had a mental breakdown from being overworked and this guy would also skipped some of his breaks to catch up his time. But before you ask, Well, how slow is this guy, that he can’t keep up? I can tell you right now that these businesses manipulate their quotas depending on the flow of work and the available man hours. The cherry on top of This? Management gets bonuses based on how much work they complete against how many man hours they use to do so.
So. Places like Amazon can lay the blame on bad management all they want, but the reality is their incentives for management practically grooms individuals to become the monsters that they are.
Im just one man, but I have made the difference where I am, against the odds. I am not an ungrateful worker, but even I am run into the ground. It is this last fact alone that has given me so much leverage to point out corruption and escape, by the help of God, their vile traps and subterfuge in their attempts to sweep me under the rug.
And you can say with absolute certainty that the waiter in question voted for the democrats who are literally killing him.
Typo in the video description.
Thank you, Dewey. Fixed here and on YouTube.
The 02: minute mark summed it up completely!
Lots of people are also renting instead of buying homes because they find value in that, or that the idea of the American Dream and the picket fence isn’t a goal of many anymore. Some is that people do not stay in one town, working for the same company from 18 to 55 and then die by 70. (and as Bill pointed out, the housing bubble kicked a lot of people out of houses and set back their ownership ability by wiping out any equity they’d built).
The city of Milwaukee, WI public schools has one of the nationally worst racial imbalances in graduation rates and is discussed, at least on conservative talk radio here. In other parts of the state is isn’t nearly as bad, but the city, still partially gripped by the teacher’s union and rampant crime, is killing the dreams of many. As Glenn points out a lot, the last Republican mayor in Mke was… I don’t know when, but it even had a Socialist mayor back in the 60s.
This “gap” is more significant in the USA today than in many other places. One of the reasons is rarely mentioned: Illegal aliens take jobs at lower rates, depressing the salaries and wages for the low end of the job market, and consuming low-end housing, driving up the prices in the cheaper markets. Without cheap illegal workers, the rich people always discussed would have to pay citizens more money. Low-end labor would be more scarce, and thus the price would go up. Problem solved.
Margaret Thatcher debunked this crap in 1990: “You would rather the poor were poorer as long as the rich were less rich.”
If minimizing income inequality is your goal, then Venezuela is succeeding beyond your wildest dreams.