The elephant of inequality revealed by USA – the herd leader.

Since 1974, upward redistribution of wealth to the business classes has cost the American labour force $50 Trillion.

That’s enough to pay every single person working in the bottom 90% an additional $1,144 a month. Every month. Every single year.

America has become more unequal during what seemed to be a golden age of wealth. But most of that wealth went to only the top 10%.

That pattern is reflected in other western economies as capital owners have been increasingly coddled by lawmakers lowering regulations and costs (who the capital owners lobby/payoff).

The money go round: … capitalists (via lobbies) to lawmakers to capitalists …

The political ramifications have been felt hard over recent years as people ask for fairer policies. People are beginning to feel that the trade off of freedom for stability – the willingness to work for the capital owners in exchange for a regular stipend (wages/salary etc) – has become too expensive. That is clearly the case for the millions that support the US economy from the floor of Amazon warehouses or the gig economy.

The trend is continuing as strong as ever. It has been built into the system through laws and practices that will have to change.

Worse perhaps is that people think that this is OK, normal, “how it is”. Clearly that is not the case and we have been codded by fancy ads, propaganda and the delusion that we can all own everything. It would be easier for us to realise our delusion if the capital owners wore crowns and ermine cloaks because we’d know that not everyone can be king and the number of barons is limited too; it’s regular people that there are lots of. That’s why kings were kicked out of America. They’re back and bigger than ever before. Will we notice? We haven’t so far …

Rand Corp report here.

Time Magazine review here.

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