Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Income inequality, how you address it

Okay I'm not talking about rich people and poor people; income inequality always has been, and always will be. I'm talking about extremes, and currently the extremes are the most extreme they have been in the history of the united states; even worse than in 1929. Income inequality means middle class money is moving to the top, and the middle class is moving to the bottom. This is bad because our economy is based on consumer spending, and 70% of consumer spending comes from the middle class; the class that's disappearing.

Democrats keep talking about tackling the issue through the tax code; that's a dip-chit idea. And honestly, I think the financial industry likes them talking about it, so if there ever is a big push, they can play that card to make it look like Congress "did something".

The HUGE chasm of income inequality comes almost exclusively from ONE business sector; the financial sector. What you have is a business sector that plays by a completely different set of rules than every other business sector...and what do you know, they make buckets more money than anyone else.

So if you want to address the issue of income inequality, you do it by simply leveling the playing field, and restraining the financial industry. Make them play by reasonable rules that everyone else plays by, and the issue will take are of itself.

Force banks to lend to minority and low income borrowers who can't repay the loans. Wave mandatory mortgage insurance, so the payments are cheaper.

Like that?

Can you provide an example?

Uh, NO!! Do you think that's what caused the financial collapse? I'll bet you do.

That's sounds like something straight out of ACORN's playbook.

Repeal the hedge fund carried interest tax loophole. Until that is done no one is serious about income disparity.

I don't give a [bleep]. I work, try to keep .gov from taking all my damned money, pay my bills, take care of my family, and don't really give a rat's azz how much or how little someone else has.

You do nothing. If you want more, earn more.

The only thing I would do as Supreme Overlord is remove 97% of regulation on manufacturing. Create inviting environments for companies to work in and the economy will balance out.

Wouldn't happen overnight. But it would. Half our problems in this country is that we try to add new regulations to fix something we perceive as broken. All we do is slow down the problem and put it off till later when it becomes a bigger problem.

Well yeah, of course. What bank loans money to someone with poor credit and inability to repay, unless forced by government to do so? Were they just being kind hearted?

Somehow get people... All people... The be content where they are, yet willing (should it be their desire to do so) to work for higher standing.

Likewise, shred the bureaucracy that is so often used by "haves" to keep the "have nots" from joining them.

Ours is a moral problem; the system (greed on both sides causing theft on various levels) is merely a reflection of the destitution of our hearts.

Bank of America has BILLIONS in toxic debt they received when they bought Countrywide. They don't have to report that debt to their stockholders...Is there another industry that gets to do that?

Goldman Sachs trades in futures, and now a law was passed that allows them to buy major companies that deal in the futures that they trade, allowing them to manipulate the markets how they like...and they have already done it.

We all know they can take massive financial risks because now they're even bigger, than when they were too big to fail.

I get my ass up at 4:30 AM and go to work every day.

I wish there was an easier way to go about it, but it's the only recourse for income equality that I've found that works for me.

And you think the Democrats engineered that out of a sense of altruism? You really think that highly of Democrats?

A big part of the problem is that our economy is a consumer-spending based economy - that's probably the biggest problem.

Solution (at least part of it):
1. Reduce the size of federal and state (and local) governments. Big government puts a huge drag on the economy for the middle class and poor, but some of the wealthy class benefit from big government, adding to the increase in income disparity.

2. Crack down on employers hiring illegal aliens (and cause illegals to self deport) - that will
a. cause wages at the bottom to rise
b. put more Americans to work
c. give younger workers a chance to contribute to their family income and develop a good work ethic
d. cause many illegal aliens to self-deport when their jobs dry up, which will reduce their burden on society, particularly the middle class that pays the bulk of taxes

3. Reduce (or at least not raise) minimum wage so that our economy is more competitive - when combined with Item 2, our economy will be stronger overall because there will be upward pressure on wages due to a lower supply of workers but at the same time a market rate will be paid for labor instead of an artificially inflated rate for labor that shouldn't demand what current minimum wage pays. Basically by combining 2 & 3, our economy will become much more efficient at setting wages, and to the advantage of American workers.

4. Pass laws that encourage spending on industrial/manufacturing activity and discourage consumer spending - the reason the rich are getting richer compared to the middle class is that they disproportionately benefit from consumer spending, and the middle class is spending away what little "wealth" they do have. Not sure how tariffs would work in our free-market world with the WTO and all of our free-trade agreements, but we need to take steps. Is it any coincidence that the decline in the middle class has tracked with the decline of manufacturing? If you aren't producing something, how can you generate value in the economy? If money is just changing hands, the people who benefit the most are the ones who are in the middle and take a little cut off of the transactions (e.g., financial industry).

5. Get rid of the concept of the government propping up businesses that are "too big to fail." If companies get large enough to seriously damage our economy, make them split into pieces that are no longer "too big to fail." We've seen too many companies award outsized bonuses to executives for risky behavior that the taxpayers (i.e., mainly the middle class) have had to pay for because the businesses were "too big to fail."

I agree with your assessment that the financial industry plays by its own set of rules and is part of our economic problems. You could argue that lawyers similarly have their own set of rules.

The government was responsible for that toxic debt. Even though the democrats enabled it from the start, the American taxpayer got to satisfy it.

Agreed, to an extent. I don't think we can deny that there have been issues of banks (usually as mortgage brokers) taking advantage of desperate and/or ignorant consumers.

And mortgage backed securities are creative ways to get that gov't-imposed stupidity off their books. Can't blame em a bit.

Seems like it'd be easiest to say that banks can never sell mortgages; they are free to lay forth underwriting guidelines as they see fit, but must keep all notes on their own books for their respective lives.

I see the collapse of heavy manufacturing a bigger problem. Lot's of well paying jobs for high school educated people are gone in the Auto, Mining, steel, and all of the ancillary businesses. They are gone and there are no other jobs for this demographic to take.

Hence the push for easy student loans so that more go to college, but now get out with a staggering debt, and far too many have a worthless degree.

Instead of working at Ford, the kids go to college and get a nothing degree and work in call centers. They are laid off every 18 months, but still vote Democrat.

I tried to fix it by wearin' a yarmulke to work,..but it didn't take.

Alla my Toolmaker buddies just thought I was tryin' to hide my bald spot.

,..said chit like,.."You need to buy a toupee' with hair own it, dumbass!"

,...ignert ass Toolmakers enny damn way,...

The issue isn't about the haves and have not's. If we continue the present course, the middle class will be wiped out and our economy will irreparably collapse.

The other issue you have is huge instability of our economy. It's one thing if the financial industry did something stupid and it brought down the financial industry ONLY. But the rest of the economy is dependent upon the financial industry, so when the financial industry screws up, it takes down ALL industries.

THAT is what this is about. I don't really care how much someone makes vs. how much I make; that's really none of my business.

But the stability of our country is a concern for all.

Here is what I see as a small business owner/operator. We are averaging $1.7 a year in sales with 9 employee's which have had no raises in 2-3 years other than the increase on the portion of healthcare that I pay. Growth has been stagnant in all but one out of the past 6 years. The cost of doing business has gone up by at least 20% in my industry over those six years. We all know how much the cost of living has risen over the same.
IMO, the economy either has to bust wide open soon or it is going to bust downward...soon. There is no sustaining for much longer at this growth level. And I hear pretty much the same from other folk and friends in different businesses.
So those middle income employee's that I have[including myself] are trending down.