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Midday Politics--What Happened to the Middle Class?: Tuesday August 28, 12-1 p.m.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Donald Barlett and James Steele say Congress and the federal government is complicit in the destruction of American manufacturing and the secure jobs that once fueled our economy. They say it helped dismantle private pension systems while cutting taxes for the wealthy. Bartlett and Steele, who have been reporting on U.S. economic and political issues for more than 30 years, are authors of “The Betrayal of the American Dream.”
    Producer: Nikki Gamer Producer: Sean Yoes To call into the show: 410-662-8780 locally, or toll-free at 1-866-661-9309 Watch the live video from Studio A during Midday with Dan Rodricks |
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Comments
Econ 101?
These guys clearly mean well and the discussion is interesting. But have they taken Econ 101? These broad trends in the economy are because of broad and global market trends. What exactly do they propose we DO? They want people to "step up" and "do somethig". And they keep conflating trade policy and tax policy. Do you think you can wave a wand and just make market forces disappear? Do they really think all these forces are conjured up by nefarious rich guys? These issues are painful and difficult and often sad. But it doesnt make it some rich guy's fault. We have a lot of problems to fix and education and tax policy and infrastructure policy and entitlement reform have to all be a part of it. But it is simply not productive to selectively grab pieces of data and tell sob stories based upon anecdotal evidence from the popular press. "I met a guy who lost his job at a steel mill...now what are we going to do..."? "we should just buy all of our steel domestically even if it's more expensive because that would create jobs..."? C'mon guys. This is basic economics. Doesnt work that way.
good point
You bring up a good point by citing complexities related to broad, global market trends. You might like the PBS Frontline piece called "Money, Power, and Wall Street". In that, you learn that a lot of people, including some who work on Wall Street, have a hard time explaining what a derivative is and how their job is a part of a financial system that is so complex that people are always hedging their bets without much regard to anything but the bottom line.
It is safe to say that Wall Street is part of the problem. Wealthy people are part of the problem (see Mitt Romney). The disparity of wealth in this country is severe. We live in a country where the top 400 people make as much as the bottom 40 million. Read that line again and think about it.
There is nothing wrong with being rich, and my main concern is not the 1%, it is the future of the country. If we have conservatives like Mitt Romney in charge, where is the money going to come from to rennovate bridges and schools? Where is the money going to come from to build upgraded forms of transportation like Baltimore's Red Line? I do not trust these people to invest in communities where they know nothing about. The fact of the matter is many Republicans do not live in places like Baltimore City. Many Republicans may work in Baltimore City, but do they really know what it is like beyond the stereotypes? Can you fix an unfamiliar place?
Middle-class people are more likely to move into Baltimore if there is a Red Line. Middle-class people are more likely to move into Baltimore if schools are rennovated, inviting, and comfortable. We know these things, but I want to see them happen. I am more confident that Barack Obama -someone who did not go to Cranbrook or run Bain Capital - will be more in touch with my concerns as a middle-class homeowner in Baltimore City.
class war 101
the share of wealth/income that capitalists own/earn has increased astronomically over the past 40 years. we could have maintained the same distribution of wealth we had in the sixties while changes in the world economy occurred. we did not. this is because rich people decided that they didn't have enough money. this is class war, not the irresistible force of nature. adam smith appropriated the idea of the 'invisible hand' from islamic economists for whom it was quite explicitly the hand of god. what you call economics 101 is just religious superstition made secular for the benefit of the rich.
Wow.
I am not sure what to say to that. If we are now going to say that basic economics is akin to religious faith and then just casually toss in the Islamic reference (point?) then it's not even really talking with each other.