Clinging to the first world

[Photo by the excellent journalistic photographer Harvey Finkle -- check out his site.]

By the standards of developed nations, America has a shocking level of poverty, even while we host a great many of the filthy rich. As was pointed out on Washington's Blog:

A report by University of California, Berkeley economics professor Emmanuel Saez concludes that income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression.

The report shows that:

• Income inequality is worse than it has been since at least 1917

• "The top 1 percent incomes captured half of the overall economic growth over the period 1993-2007"
  

• "In the economic expansion of 2002-2007, the top 1 percent captured two thirds of income growth."

As others have pointed out, the average wage of Americans, adjusting for inflation, is lower than it was in the 1970s. The minimum wage, adjusting for inflation, is lower than it was in the 1950s. See this.

On the other hand, billionaires have never had it better (and see this).

Of the 535 members of Congress, over 44% - 237 to be exact - are millionaires. Fifty have net worths of at least $10 million, and seven are worth more than $100 million. By comparison, around 1% of Americans are millionaires. There is no other minority group that is as overrepresented in Congress. See this.

Impoverished Americans are largely invisible since they are rarely on TV or in the movies, but there are a hell of a lot of poor people in the US. We tend not to be aware of those who are worse off, because Americans are highly segregated by income. Here's a small example of that segregation: on one side of town, there's a grocery store with such astronomically high prices (e.g., $6 for a teeny 1-cup container of fresh-made salsa) that I can't quite believe it's been in business for 2 years. Where I live, that store would go under-- and yet I still live in a fairly well-off area. On the opposite side of town the people are poorer, and there's a grocery store out that way where I never have to return my empties, because there is always someone hanging around by the recycling machines who is grateful to take them as a donation. The first time this happened I was rather stupid about it; I was waiting for an available machine and this very thin man made a comment or two, in a sympathetic vein, about how lousy it was to have to wait, especially when you have kids with you (meaning mine). Eventually he came right out and said he'd been collecting cans and bottles to try to make his room rent, at which point I finally said "Oh! Well, here, take my stuff...."

And really, that store is still not in an impoverished area, just a slowly decaying section of suburbia. That store doesn't sell to the rural poor, nor to the inner city.

To remind us all, some statistics:

1 in 8 Americans is on food stamps (source)

Only 2 out of 3 Americans eligible for food stamps receive them (source)

As many as 10% of workers are under the table, and will never be eligible for food stamps, regardless of their level of poverty (source)

Half of all American children will receive food stamps at some point in childhood (source)


90% of all African-American children will receive food stamps at some point in childhood (source)


7% of all mortgages are more than 2 months behind on payments (source)

1 in 50 American children experiences homelessness in a given year (source)


The true unemployment rate is over 21% (source)

Meanwhile, in mainstream news: Green shoots! Recovery! Worst is past! Back from the brink! Losses slowing! Signs of improvement!

Uh-huh. Right. In a way, you have to laugh at the absurd stupidity of the uber-rich. Every brainless parasite knows you don't kill your host if you want to go on collecting free food. But these uber-rich got so damned greedy and took so much for themselves that they have collapsed the Western economies from which they drew their wealth in the first place. The stupid fools! Only such psychopaths (see here) could be so blithely inattentive to the suppliers of their stolen wealth.

In the early 20th century, not only Henry Ford but the whole class of industry titans learned that if they wanted to sell things and have a prosperous society, the little people would have to be reasonably well paid. I'm not saying they just woke up one day and realized this like an epiphany out of the blue; it was more like they were forced to understand this by strikes, sit-ins, demonstrations, riots, and so forth. And it looks like it's time for the titans to learn these economic realities all over again. They should consider themselves lucky if they get through it this time without revolution.