right now we are seeing the accumulation of wealth in the hands of few to an extent not seen since the great depression. at the same time, the top marginal tax rate is also at a near low, and reminiscent of great depression levels. here's a graph
click please:
http://i.imgur.com/RryDv.jpg
when the economy was healthy, up through 1973, incomes grew relatively evenly across multiple classes. since then, we've had runaway growth for the wealthiest americans and stagnant growth for the poor. and in the crash, who do you think suffered most? this ties in with the appoint of the above graphic: this is very dangerous
http://i.imgur.com/VG9tw.jpg
the economic ramifications is less spending power for the lower classes, which is poor for the economy. in order for them to spend, they must borrow, and credit debt has also exceeded great depression levels.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/...DUX5geEwes/s320/Image.gif
this basically creates an enormous bubble. in fact, this type of bubble is what led to the huge economic collapse just a couple years ago. this also was a factor leading into the great depression. how are the richest making their money? (first chart below) hm, financial sorcery. and what are they spending it on? (second chart below) will it trickle down? not really, sorry.
http://i.imgur.com/hVdsA.gif
http://i.imgur.com/SGQ09.gif
after wallowing for several years through the depression, fdr enacted the new deal, providing social safety nets and work programs. this time, after just a hint of increased regulation - and a dirty bailout - we've seen a huge backlash from the populace. with no real reform we're destined to repeat the crisis again. and it further appears like we're going to end up taking the death spiral route: austerity programs. this further kneecaps the poor and damages the economy and is basically the last bleeding of the stone for the benefit of the ownership classes before leaving behind the corpses. here's a graph showing the financial benefits of different types of government actions. these basically show the "fiscal multipliers," economically speaking. observe what's most helpful vs. what is least efficient, and then compare that to what we're actually going to do.
http://i.imgur.com/0qKre.jpg
does anyone in the system have any sort of interest in fixing this? not really, no. there was this thing called the people's budget, proposed by the congressional progressive caucus. this proposal offered to:
-Reduces unemployment—and thus the deficit—through extensive investment in infrastructure, clean energy, transportation and education;
-Ends almost all the Bush tax cuts, creates new tax brackets for millionaires and new fees on Wall Street;
-Full American military withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other reductions in military spending;
-Ends subsidies for non-renewable energy;
-Lowers health care costs through a public option and negotiating Rx payments with pharmaceutical companies;
-Raises the taxable maximum on Social Security.
http://www.dailykos.com/...ucing-the-Peoples-Budget,
has anyone even heard of it? no, because obama and the rest of the center-right mainstream democrats ignored it. instead of starting with that and then working toward compromise, obama's bargaining strategy started with offering some austerity and tax code 'revisions' (not tax increases). this is partly because obama is a conservative and partly because of the media: corporate mass media beats the false idea into everyone's heads that TAX CUTS create jobs by letting the rich horde money (allegedly works much better than taking that money and sponsoring government funded jobs...) and that government needs to GET OUT OF THE WAY!
so this is why capitalism is in its death throes.
now to go off topic a little bit, lets look at the truth about how the public would like to solve the debt issue (dont let this get in the way of the media narratives though! dont raise taxes, cut entitlements!).
http://images1.dailykos.com/...685/njpollcuts7-26-11.gif
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...gArt/budgetcutsupport.jpg
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...ngArt/budgetcutoppose.jpg
if you dont wanna read any of that you can still click the pics
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