Income Inequality

The disappearing of the middle class jobs is a very strong claim, which I do agree with. However, it may be difficult to define middle class jobs because it is so broad. Also, middle class jobs are often determined by income of the worker, but many jobs that pay well are in terrible work conditions. I believe income inequality is a fundamental threat, and even President Obama has stated that. Even the chairman of the Federal Reserve has addressed income inequality. I believe the disappearing middle class is the result of increasing income inequality. The core of the issue must be addressed for the income inequality. Even data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics proves the actuality of the wealthy becoming wealthier and the poor becoming poorer, and it even has clear statistics on how wages for the poor are essentially stagnant when productivity has been increasing and even doubling in the last few decades with almost no increases in real wages for those workers. This is a serious issue threatening the well-being of millions of Americans because, I believe, many businesses are exploiting their workers. The exploitation of workers and markets allows the richest to have an increasing share of total income and the wealthiest have the highest growth rates in income that the middle class or lower class cannot possibly match. Many large businesses and wealthy individuals pay very low taxes causing the federal budget deficit, but there is little that can be done when there is money in politics. Crony capitalism is rampant in America and any resistance is met with a heavy hand. I believe there is not enough taxation and regulation of the large businesses, but this statement of mine will likely be met with heavy resistance if I were speaking to a representative of business because it is not in their best interests to admit the truth. Disillusionment is a very serious issue because many people do not see the great income inequality when the country is so wealthy on the global stage and total incomes have been increasing for average Americans. What I am saying is that the poorest Americans are being ignored by much economic policy because the political power is held by the wealthy. It's important to remember that the bottom 40 percent of Americans actually have a negative household net worth according to various sources, while the top 1 percent has over $16 million per household. That disproportionate wealth distribution is propagated further and that is frightening. I believe the tax breaks and loopholes that cause many large corporations such as Google only paid a 2.4 percent overseas tax rate. Paying only 2.4 percent in taxes is outrageous and not capitalism it is exploitation of the poor. If large corporations would pay their taxes then maybe the middle class would begin gaining a greater share of the income that is captured by exploitative businesses that cause the federal budget deficit.