Posted on 08/03/2006 2:37:15 PM PDT by Graybeard58
The wide gap between the richest and poorest
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
The wide gap between the richest and poorest Americans has not often been the topic of choice for the Bush administration's two previous Treasury secretaries.
So it was notable this week that Henry Paulson, the president's latest Treasury head, chose to put that issue on his short list - as one of the nation's four prominent, long-term economic challenges. Mr. Paulson's head-on approach during one of his first public appearances as secretary differs from his predecessors' strategies, some analysts say.
The wealth gap is hardly new, but income inequality has been growing in America over the past quarter century. Even as average worker productivity has surged, average hourly earnings have stagnated. Meanwhile, the nation's economic elites have prospered.
"Amid this country's strong economic expansion, many Americans simply aren't feeling the benefits," Paulson said during his first major speech as Treasury secretary, at Columbia University's business school in New York on Monday. "Their increases in wages are being eaten up by high energy prices and rising healthcare costs, among others."
I screwed it up. I was trying to get 300 words on the button and wound up somehow with 8 words. There's more in comment #1.
You should see the gap between the rich and poor in North Korea, Cuba and other commie countries. They don't have a middle class.
What is it with these Treas Secs? Jeez, Bush can't pick em!
As long as the economy's good, rich people will always accumulate more wealth. The do-nothings at the other end will always have nothing. Always have, always will. However, it's not like they will ever have less than nothing.
It's when the rich/poor gap narrows, then we'll be in serious economic trouble.
Always the same grasshopper/ant scenario. I can't believe Paulson's actually wasting brainpower on this.
Oh W, fire this guy. He is a cheap political whore pandering to the Junk Media's talking points. What utter nonense. Mean wages are significantly UP. This guy is a clown.
People are always so willing to stretch the concept of Adam Smith's 'guiding' hand and the accumulation of wealth and make the implication that capitalism is founded upon greed, while completely ignoring the much more obvious notion that socialism and communism are rooted in envy?
Because Adam Smith's theories are rooted in "self interest," which really aren't synonmous with "greed" and communism is isn't rooted in envy, but supposedly scientific principles, while socialism is something else entirely.
If you tax me more to give welfare to someone else, by any logical accounting that would reduce my income and increase the income of the beneficiary. However, most of this accounting doesn't count the higher income person as having less income after taxes or the lower income person as having more from government freebies. In fact if the richer person starts working overtime to keep pace, while the poorer person decides that he's making enough from welfare and doesn't need a job, then the welfare program could actually increase the "wealth gap" depending on how it is counted.
He's right. Will he propose supply side economics, restraining government growth, and a market based monetary policy?
Sounds like the liberal rant about the class struggle. We still have a middle class in this country and everyone has
the opportunity to rise above their current status.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.