Tag: income inequality

While stocks doubled, 18% more kids fell into poverty. The U.S. has taken nearly half of the world’s new wealth since the 2008 recession, and the stock market more than doubled from 2008 to 2014, but the number of children living below the federal poverty threshold increased by 18 percent during that same timeframe.

International law affirms that everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, including health care, food, work, and social protection in times of need. While these rights are often trampled upon by more repressive regimes, among the economically developed democracies the U.S. is virtually alone in callously disregarding them. It stands out in the extent to which it allows its citizens to suffer from food insecurity, homelessness, lack of access to affordable healthcare, and lack of suitable housing. Due to cutbacks in basic services, poverty has become a trap—a trap into which anyone can fall, and from which it is extremely hard to escape.

Conservatives – and too often, what passes for liberals here in the USA – have been using the notion of ‘American exceptionalism’ to justify a wide range of criminal and near criminal activity. We’re exceptional, alright, but not in the way we think. Here’s 8 ways we’re exceptional – exceptionally bad.

The growing inequality problem is not just about our weekly pay. Average Americans have lost wealth from home values, pensions, savings, and total assets, and our broken economy prevents them from making up any ground. Meanwhile, the wealthy elite have seen larger and larger income gains, and they’ve stashed billions away in property, savings, and various types of low-or-no-tax investments.

Corporate interests were fiercely lobbying for President Obama to dedicate serious time in this State of the Union speech to pushing fast track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in order to try to overcome growing congressional and public opposition to both, but instead he made only a brief passing reference. The White House had come under considerable pressure from congressional Democrats and base groups not to raise these issues, given the stark conflict with the main theme of Obama’s speech. Implementing TPP – a NAFTA-on-steroids with 11 nations – would undermine Obama’s efforts to battle income inequality.
TRNN: Obama’s address failed to look at roots of income inequality. President Obama’s State of the Union address focused on expanding economic opportunities by raising the minimum wage, making college more affordable and increasing economic mobility… During the previous five years of the current economic recovery income and wealth inequality has not only increased, but accelerated. That’s according to economist Thomas Hickey and Emmanuel Saez. Joining TRRN to unpack all this is David Cay Johnston. He’s a pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter and a contributing editor to Newsweek…