Posted on 01/17/2017 8:24:44 AM PST by RitchieAprile
The United States is one of the richest countries in the world. It is also one of the most unequal. As a report released today shows, the U.S. ranks 23 out of 30 developed nations in a measure known as the “inclusive development index,” which factors in data on income, health, poverty, and sustainability.
The index comes from the World Economic Forum, whose annual summit is taking place in Davos this week. It is a rather comprehensive measure of inequality, and the fact that the U.S. ranks so poorly is a sign of the country’s dramatic wealth concentration. Of all the factors in the index, the U.S. performed worst in what the WEF calls the inclusion category, which measures the distribution of income and wealth, and the level of poverty. Additionally, the country received particularly low marks in the areas of social protection—defined as efficiency of public goods and services and robustness of social safety nets—and employment and labor compensation. The U.S. joins Brazil, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, and South Africa as countries with inclusive-development rankings that fall below their GDP per capita rankings, a sign that their economic growth is not being shared, the report says. The U.S. had the largest gap between the two measures.
That economic inequality characterizes the American economy as no surprise. Study after study shows that America has more wealth concentration than most other developed nations. But WEF’s findings about how poorly the U.S. performs when it comes to wages and social safety nets is particularly notable since legislation intended to address those disparities are set to undergo significant changes in the early years of the Trump administration.
In the U.S., wage growth has been non-existent for much of the post-recession era. That only changed this past year, when wages grew by around 2 percent. While that small bump is progress in the right direction, it is not enough to bring Americans financial security. The political parties are divided on why this is the case and what should be done about it.. Republicans tend to look at paltry wage gains and blame regulations that they say hinder business growth. That growth, they contend, would trickle down to workers’ paychecks. Additionally, as of late Republicans are also arguing that globalization has diminished the number of well-paying middle-class jobs. The solutions many conservatives support include tightening trade and loosening regulations and taxes on American businesses. Democrats however, point to structural issues such as shareholder pressure on companies to produce stellar quarterly earnings, which often means boosting profits by cutting labor costs, or the decline in union power, which hinders the ability of workers to negotiate for higher salaries and better benefits. The answer, they generally argue, is to increase legislative protections for workers, including raising the minimum wage or strengthening safety-net programs that provide for the very poor.
The GOP will soon get its chance to test their ideas. As my colleagues Adam Chandler and Alexia Campbell have both written, perhaps the clearest indication of what the Trump administration has in mind for wage protections is the choice of Andrew Puzder for secretary of the Department of Labor. Puzder, the CEO of a fast-food company, has been outspoken about his disdain for federally mandated minimum-wage increases and new overtime rules that would result in either raises or additional pay for millions of workers. Conservatives have said that these rules place an undue burden on business owners, which could result in hiring fewer works, or giving them fewer hours—which would ultimately hurt the labor force. Advocates of these federal initiatives say that, without them, workers—especially low-income workers—will remain underpaid, overworked, and without enough consistent income to access basic necessities.
The WEF report argues that the U.S.’s striking inequality likely influences a variety of other disparities, including political and social polarization. The report suggests that while dangerous, the current problem can be improved through policies that, among other things, promote parity in wages regardless of gender, race or ethnicity; educational opportunities; and access to jobs.
I guess they didn’t include socialist countries
Even I have a hard time grasping and liking the laws of subjective value. It is sad, that boobs who lose money for corporations get paid tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Or that some idiot actor or baseball player gets paid multiples of a doctor who saves lives. But that’s life.
What I cannot grasp is countries, such as the Nordic ones, where wages are so tight. Why would you want to stop say being a general office clerk making $38,000 to be a supervisor getting paid say $40,000? Where is the incentive?
Porsches are not built in Bowling Green, KY. Porsche has no U.S. manufacturing.
Corvettes, on the other hand, are built in Bowling Green . . .
That’s the catch. There _are_ countries which have stabilized nicely at a comfortable level; sure they don’t have comparable poverty rates, but neither is there incentive to do a lot better. Expect the country to eventually stagnate into oblivion, most content where they are but the ambitious going elsewhere.
On that last note, someone should study the correlation between immigration vs inequality: sure we have a huge disparity of wealth, but we also have a huge number of people trying to get in here for a shot at that wealth.
Supply and demand.
Boobs who lose money for corporations still tend to bring in WAY more revenue than most anyone else would. Most people would crumble in days under the pressures of being a big-corporation CEO.
Idiot actors & baseball players get paid huge amounts because millions want to see the few dozen of them. Ex.: people are willing to pay $1 each to see Harrison Ford appear in Star Wars 7 ... easily making his $20,000,000 salary for that movie.
Life-saving doctors do great work, but there’s 854,698 of them to choose from - so you can shop around until their salaries come down to six figures. My doctor is great - and I’ve paid him thousands of dollars, but there’s only a few hundred patients paying him.
Economies of scale.
In my life time I have seen 4 Billion stories decrying to haves and havenots in EVIL capitalist dog America.
Not once have a seen an article mentioning that 3% of the population commit over 50% of the murders. Not once!
“The United States is one of the richest countries in the world.....”
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WRONG! The U.S. is dead broke but NO ONE wants to admit it!
Thanks, but I really don't care where they are made or not made. That wasn't the point of the post I pasted here.
“Everyone is equally poor in many countries.”
Yep. Right there in the first sentence was the reason for the “inequality”.
“The trees were all kept equal
by hatchet, axe and saw.”
If you’re going to push a parable like that, get the basic facts straight. I agree with the idea, but it doesn’t take 2 minutes in the Age of the Internet to ascertain that Porsche doesn’t have a factory in Bowling Green. Nor a dealership, I’m sure. Closest is probably Nashvegas.
“If you’re going to push a parable like that, get the basic facts straight.”
You said it. It is a parable - meant to teach a reality. It is not a true story.
If you’re using elements of reality in your parable, get the facts right. This isn’t that hard, isn’t asking much.
Parable: A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles.
Facts are irrelevant beyond illustrating the principle.
Thanks though.
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