It’s the growing economic inequality (or K shape economy) in the last 30+ years that gives democratic socialism a chance to shine.

So, what caused this growing economic inequality? I would like to pin point 3 primary causes (not in particular order).

It's the infiltration of our educational system and funding of this and online and Main Stream Media efforts and Hollywood efforts that has driven this, not economic differential.
There has always been economic differential, but there is the chance for upward mobility that is the very driver for people flooding our country.
Removing that opportunity is antithetical to the very goal of the migration.
You don't see Americans fleeing to communist countries (not trying to hide like Snowden), now do you?

The push has also been boosted by voter fraud.

Had a socialist to become mayor of the capital of capitalism until now. This has more to do with reality than simply school education.

Btw, do you know 44% of Americans now consider retiring abroad, even current number only about 1 million living in other countries for retirement? The top destinations for Americans to retire are

Mexico
Portugal
Costa Rica
Spain
Panama
Canada
Japan

"considering" retiring elsewhere, and actually leaving the country. In fact, retirees really cannot go many places as the rest of the world (for the most part) only accepts immigrants that can off something contribution -wise to the country - not just elder care debt and elderly medical care debt.
Yhey usually must be young, educated professionals. Further, many in that group are undoubtedly the hyperbolic libs blowing smoke because Trump is in office. The would bever actually be stupid enough to do it.

We are a modern country filled with infidels.

The Muslim world missed the boat on industrialization and high tech and democracy and cling to ancient religious superstitions.

They suffer from severe ENVY, the sine qua non leftist motivation.

The margins of victory for Mamdani and AOC and Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar and El-Sayed are all based on the votes of immigrants who are unhappy with their situations in this country.

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The rich get richer.

Look at households with generational wealth (even amongst our own peer group) where there is a healthy supersized safety net for their children and grandchildren.

"Enjoy your gap year, Brooke! .... We hope the apartment in Paris has great views and lighting for you to write and paint ...discover yourself ... explore Europe!"

90% of households are just grinding .... with no safety net.

So they want to change the club rules.


Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-wealth-gap-widest-in-three-decades-federal-reserve/

Along with the previously discussed Citizens United ruling.

I do give the DSA props for not taking PAC money.

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Re income taxes, we taxed the highest brackets at 70% in the 1970s, and then capped at 50% under Reagan. It is now 37% at top bracket. And we have tax laws to shelter income.

Re estate taxes, the estate tax exemption was $600k w/ estate tax rate up to 55% in the mid 1990s. Now it's almost $14million with a 40% rate.

Trusts were crafted to avoid all of the above and pass wealth to the children.

Our system is designed to protect personal wealth from taxation. Whether one supports or doesn't support our income tax and estate tax policies, the bottom line is that wealth accumulates over time. And once it crosses a line where the juice exceeds what wealthy people need, the rich get richer. The math becomes the math. Wealth becomes exponential.

Yet, it takes some wealth to start the magic. And the overwhelming percentage of households in America have never been in the game. They never had the quid to build real wealth. Life's demands -- bills, mortgage, tuition, insurance, medical, unexpected catastrophes -- made it impossible.

Economic inequality. But why this growing inequality happened in first place?

Link: https://forum.uhnd.com/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=2&msgid=296054

We’re increasingly earn profits through financial activities rather than producing goods and services. This shifted income toward owners of assets. But these assets are all inflated which added extra gap between the rich (paper rich) and the poor (cash poor).

Financialization changed our economy. It shifted focus from producing goods and creating long-term jobs to making a quick short-term profits, stock prices, and paper wealth. This kind of capitalism is very different from the capitalism that once made America great - our industrial capitalism.

Our once great industrial capitalism seeks to build productive capacity and build middle class base. Today’s finance capitalism seeks "money making money" through the financial, insurance, and real estate, so called FIRE sectors.

Our industrial capitalism was attacked and damaged by 2 fronts, globalization and financial capitalism. This increased economic inequality.

If you haven't already, you should read Thomas Piketty's book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" to get a more in-depth analysis of that factor.

The attached link also provides more detail...


Link: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/issues/economic-justice/inequality-in-the-us/

It’s about why you’re only making $60/yr which put you in the category of the poor in NYC today, but Jack makes $5m/yr which put him in the class of the rich.

35 years ago, you and Jack both made 40k/yr and both were middle class back then. The thread is about what caused such a big difference between you and Jack after 35 years. Why you became poor from middle class while Jack became rich. Even you tax Jack by 90%, it won’t change the fact that Jack makes $5 m /yr, much more than you. That’s why your post is irrelevant. You can say I don’t care the cause. Tax policy is my solution to solve this problem. Then please open your own thread.

Did you ever have one time that you follow the subject of the thread? I don’t think so.

Automation and digital technologies have increased demand for highly skilled high-pay workers while reducing demand for many routine jobs. But our education failed to follow this change by providing enough well-trained STEM graduates. For example, Department of Psychology consistently is one of largest departments in many universities.

We can argue if overall America benefited from globalization or not. But no doubt globalization hurts American middle class which shrunken from 61% of 1970-1980 (pre-globalization era) to 51% of today. Offshoring put downward pressure on wages for some manufacturing workers while benefiting consumers and highly skilled professionals. The middle class was “hollowed out” from both rich and poor ends. This increases the gap of inequality.

But the most troubling thing is not just the number of the poor and middle class, it is economic well-being. Both middle class and the poor have been struggling with increasing financial pressure of essential costs like housing, college tuition, childcare, healthcare, insurance… they matter more on the economic inequality.

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