Greetings again. I saw a headline about the recently-released Congressional Budget Office report in the site I use as my home page, commondreams.org. But I haven't seen too many other online stories about it (shouldn't be surprising, I guess). CNN Money had the first other report I found, and the Washington Post has one (but they're behind a paywall :-( There are some other articles, but some of the sources didn't sound as though I wanted articles by that outlet, so I'm going here with the CNN article. The facts, yes, facts, that it lays out are pretty striking and in some ways quite stark.
The article seems to do a very good job of highlighting the results about wealth inequality, but beware of the autoplay video. You can read the article here .
Key reveals:
- the top 10% of families had 76% of the total wealth in 2013
- the bottom 50% held only 1% of the total wealth
- the top 10% of families saw their share of the wealth grow from around 2/3 to the just over 3/4 reported above, during the period from 1989 - 2013. Can you now guess what happened to the share of the 'bottom' 90% during the same period?
And now here's another infuriating report - this time at The Intercept. Check out:
20 Years Later, Poverty Is Up...
Some statistics to consider:
- Researchers Luke Shaefer and Kathryn Edin estimate that "1.5 million American households, including 3 million children, are today living at or below extreme poverty – double the number that it was in 1996."
- 5.5 percent of American households — 6.7 million households in all — used a food bank or some other form of food charity in 2014. That’s the highest percentage since record-keeping on the matter began in 1995.
We need to look around and ask some very tough questions about why this is so. We need to look for ways to address the problems and open the economy and give folks more of a chance to rise.
- We need to ask why big money is dominating politics and policy making, why reform hasn't happened, and how can we best make changes.
- We need to look at reforming our tax structure so that the wealthy and corporations pay their share. I guess everyone has forgotten the Panama Papers already.
- We need to look at how we invest our resources. Why do we spend so much on things such as drones, guns, and bombs instead of say, supporting education. Seems like a no-brainer to me. Guns, drones and bombs just bring destruction, but investing in education would enable more citizens to become better able to make it in this economy, pay taxes and make positive contributions.
- We need to make sure workers are getting LIVING wages. Minimum wages need to keep up!
- Related to the previous thought, we need to look at strengthening labor unions and increasing union membership. It has been shown that unions not only help the members, but nonmembers as well! Read this study by Cashman and Butcher . And this article from the Center for American Progress Action Fund as well!
- We need to ask why the media hardly covers issues of poverty, wealth and economic inequality, and food insecurity and demand media outlets do better.
UPDATE:
Here's a new report from Economic Policy Institute on how the declning strength of unions hurts us all.
Any further ideas? Please share in comments!
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Came across this article on economic inequality via the common dreams website. The author really lays a lot out there as to the reality of the current wealth inequity in the U. S.. Mr. Van Buren answers some of the unsympathetic questions one hears about the unemployed and working poor. This should be required reading for some of those commenters who heap such scorn on those who are still struggling economically.
The latest jobs reports are mixed to be sure. According to The Guardian article, over 200,000 jobs were added in May, a good sign. But unemployment is still "officially" at 6.3%. The number of full-time jobs is lower than pre-recession, and the labor participation rate is only 62.8%. Is is possible, as some have been suggesting, that many long-term unemployed have given up looking for work and are no longer counted, thus the actual unemployment rate would be higher?
Nevertheless, there are pin-prick lights of hope. Seattle voted to increase their minimum wage. As our first article referenced suggests, this might really be a good thing for the local economy. Let's hope so. I've long thought that real economic recovery would start with us 99%ers having more disposable income to spread around. Many studies have revealed that in such cases, the spending really does go to consumer goods, such as food and clothing, and other expenses such as housing and utility costs. Folks enabled to better meet the basic needs of their families - THAT sounds like an economic stimulus to me!
I suppose many of you readers have seen the media reports of the lackluster performance of U. S. teens in the latest International tests of Math, Science, and Reading (PISA Test). The Guardian has a good overview here .As a retired college math educator, I'm not surprised, unfortunately. The lack of motivation on the part of some of my students reflected the problems we face in educating our students. A teacher can run the most engaging classroom in the world, but if the student is not motivated to do homework and internalize the material, will learning take place? Have we been focusing too much on "entertaining" the students that we're not giving them a thorough dose of material? And that's just the start of my questions! I read somewhere that the results of poverty were similar to those of brain damage and that intense remediation is needed for those students. With reports that so many students do live in poverty, I have to wonder if they're truly getting the type of remediation they need. Parental involvement has also been shown to affect achievement. Are we doing what we can to encourage that and provide students with educational role models when necessary?Many educational critics have said that we're no longer emphasizing critical thinking. I would have to agree. Certainly we need training, but wouldn't the ability to think critically give us better employees, leaders, citizens in the long run? America must also truly support education. We must show that we value learning and the intellect. Dr. Henry Giroux was recently on the Bill Moyers Journal program. He says we need to reclaim the value of the intellect (or something like that). This page on his site has links to his online articles which you can read. I encourage you to do so.More good reading on the subject can be found in Malcolm Gladwell's fine book, Outliers. He makes at least two good points: 1) Persistence was often related to excelling in math (now, if we can just get THAT through to the students!) and 2) schooling does work - but those at-risk students need more of it (good luck getting that accomplished on a large scale, though).Some discussion can be made about the diversity/ inclusiveness of some participating nations' schools. There might be a case that the U.S. has a more diverse/democratic educational system. That doesn't mean we should be content or satisfied with where we're testing. I think we must view this as a challenge that requires a concerted effort to answer. My overall conclusion is that the schools cannot do this job alone. We must as a nation seek to elevate our achievement and lift each other - especially our students - up.
The House is set to consider a bill that would drastically cut food stamps (supplemental nutrition programs) ON TOP OF cuts that are already scheduled for this Fall. The vote might come Thurs. - that's TOMORROW. Please contact your representative and ask that he/she vote against HR 3102.We need to stand together and stand up for each other!
Maybe Mitt Romney's remark about the poor will have some good reults. If it keeps the issue before the public (which we know has a limited attention span), it might help keep the discussion and action going.
However, George Clooney in his recent "Inside the Actor's Studio" appearnce said something I found to be a bit daunting. CLooney has been active in keeping the public aware of problems in Darfur and Haiti and trying to help the people affected. He said that shining a light on the problem doesn't make it go away. That really gives us quite a challenge. Shining a light, spreading the word on issues such a proverty or the situations in Darfut or Haiti is necessary, of course, but it just can't stop there. We, the people, the decision makers, and leaders, too, must act in order to solve these problems. So we must do something to help alleviate suffering, help those struggling, and generate better policies to create better situations in the future. I know it's tough; we all work so much, have families and other responsibilities. But I hope that we can do something. Collectively, even small actions can help. Now if I can get it together and do something... It's a challenge for me as well as for others (although I'm amazed at what some others do to help things). But I definitely should do something. I hope we all will.
Going to the grocery store shouldn't be a challenge, should it? I'll say right out that I must count my blessings as I have a good job and am not food insecure. If you're paying attention, the data on food insecurity is really enough to give one pause.What is really is getting to me these days is the price of bread. Specifically, a good brand of multigrain or whole wheat bread. Many of them where I shop now have a regular price of more than $4.00 per loaf. To me this is totally unacceptable. A staple, a healthy staple at that, should not be priced so that it's geting out of reach. There has been much talk about this in the media recently and one point that comes out is that if a family is using Food Stamps or a Supplemental Nutrition Program - it's hard to afford healthy food choices. With the cost of healthy bread so high, I well believe it. In general, the data on poverty is just staggering. And if the cost of FOOD - something we all need - even BASIC food like bread - gets so high, it's going to just make it that much harder for people and families to tread water, let alone emerge from poverty. On top if this, many states want to reduce benefits or eligibility for their programs. Can't we do better, folks? Can't we cut elsewhere? Can't we end the loopholes so everyone pays a fair share of taxes? Can't we create more jobs here? There certainly is enough work to be done. Let's start with customer service and tech support workers. We're all tired of automated systems so how about hiring more humans! And why can't our own folks be trained in tech support instead of shipping those jobs overseas?Let's do better so we can all eat healthy and keep rising up.
Have you heard the reports? The results of the National Child Welfare Survey found that 1 in 5 children are now living in poverty. That's almost 15 million children. Go here for an article about the issue.I think we should all be outraged that this is happening to our children. We're not giving our future a good head start. We have got to struggle for better social supports and policies to help our families and especially the children.
The Phila. Inquirer recently ran another in an occasional series about hunger. It turns out, this one Congressional District in Phila. is probably the poorest in the entire country. The statistics are staggering. Welfare and food stamps often do not cover the necessary expenses of rent, utilities, etc., and food for a family. By the third week of the month, people, including children, are struggling just to have something to stave off starvation. Food pantries offer some help, but they only have so many resources. Their supplies are down while demand had dramatically risen.
So what should we think, what should we do? It's so easy to have a knee-jerk reaction and think someone is at fault for not working. However, in this economy, if you're without a job for any reason (say, a layoff) it's not easy to find another job - not with unemployment around 9.6%. A person or family may not be able to just pack up and move to another area to try to find work. And what about the children? It's not their fault, and many parents the Inquirer has written about try to see that their children eat first, and they eat if there's something left. Making sure children get proper nutrition is critical for their long-term development. School lunch and breakfast programs are crucial, and more should be done for them.
What should we do? First, I guess we should NEVER take our food for granted and should be thankful for it. Second, we can support local food banks, food pantries and related programs. Third, we also should work to see the government strengthen the safety net and patch some of those holes that are in it.
Aren't we taught to care for our neighbors? It just seems somewhat out of whack to me that we have those struggling just to survive and others having such luxurious lives. While it's unrealistic and impossible to eliminate all economic disparity, we should at least see that the most vulnerable among us get enough food to thrive and that the children get a good start. It's the right thing to do.
Unbelievable! The Senate has blocked a minimum wage increase. The Senators (mostly Republican) who voted against this should be ashamed. I hope people take a look at how their Senators voted and hold them accountable for standing up for working families.Meanwhile, everyone should work to have their states raise the state minimum wage. NJ has passed a raise, and PA has just passed one. This is only economic fairness. How can you support a family on a wage of around $5.15? This also comes as news breaks that the average CEO makes $11 million per year as compared to just under $42, 000 for an average worker. This means the average CEO makes around 262 times the wage of an average worker. These figures come from the Economic Policy Institute and are based on 2005 wages and compensation. The EPI also says that the buying power of the minimum wage is at a 51-year low. You can read more about their analysis at the EPI site.So why won't our policy makers do the right thing and give the working poor a boost?
By now, most of you have probably heard that the U. S. House Agriculture Committee approved budget cuts that would cut food stamps entirely from around 300,000 people and cut school lunches and breakfasts for approximately 40,000 children. This comes as it was reported that the people who cannot afford enough food rose - to 38.2 million in 2004! Read about this shameful vote here and you can also read more details of the proposal at this site.I ask, how in good conscience can these supposed representatives of the people vote to take food from those who need it so much? I ask, how did it get to this point? How did so many of us slip into poverty? How are we letting our representatives get away with cutting programs to aid them, yet vote tax cuts for the wealthy and tax breaks for corporations? I ask, why aren't we outraged?Ladies and gentlemen, I ask that you get outraged. Find out where your representative stands on this issue. Let him or her know that you favor restoring these budget cuts that would hurt the most vulnerable among us. Don't stop there, but please spread word about this to as many people as you can. We need to put as much pressure on the House to restore these particular cuts as possible.
