Economist on Morning Joe displayed the obscene nature of inequality. The wealthy got much richer during the pandemic. It demonstrates a failed economic system.
Pandemic exposes inequality further
Former investment banker Steven Rattner appeared on Morning Joe and displayed some eye-popping charts. It is imperative that Americans understand these charts.
A number that jumps out is how much the 1% and subsequently the 10% herded 35% of the wealth. That is 70% of the wealth created since the pandemic went to the top 10%. The next 40% of Americans got 26%. And of course, the bottom 50% got a total of 4% of the gains. That is inequality and disparity on steroids.
The picture got much worse when one broke the numbers down based on race. Whites who make up about 60% of the population received 84% of the gains. Blacks, who are about 13% of the population, received 5% of the gains. Latino who make up 19% of the population received 2% of the gains.
We continue to hear these statistics and fret about them. Later in the broadcast, one panelist said that the wealthy are also getting concerned and willing to pay more taxes. He also said that the rate of philanthropy was increasing.
What is frustrating is, as usual, the ball is left in the hands of the wealthy. We make it a problem that they should solve. America needs a paradigm shift. America needs to remove the indoctrination about power and how it is wielded. Americans need to understand that our economic system favors the wealthy differently than they realize. Their wealth is the gross amount of your worth they refused to pay you for. But that is for another discussion. Understand that what we have in America now is legalized theft.
