Posted on 07/19/2018 7:46:49 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
It’s the wrong thing to be worried about. When Bernie Sanders came to the University of Massachusetts Amherst during his campaign for president, thousands of my fellow students turned out to hear him speak. With his many campus visits, the socialist senator certainly left an impression — roughly 2 million young people voted for him in 2016.
Thanks to people like Sanders, the idea that income inequality is the “defining issue of our time” has been burned into the collective consciousness of my generation, so much so that a GenForward survey found that economic inequality was one of the highest political priorities of most young Americans. But in our outrage over “income inequality,” my generation is manufacturing a crisis — in a capitalist economy, inequality can be a good thing.
It’s easy to see why my classmates might think our current distribution is fundamentally unfair. The top 1 percent of American households control almost 40 percent of our country’s wealth, and the U.S.’s Gini coefficient, a common measure of economic inequality, is .41, making us one of the most lopsided large countries. But is that really something to be ashamed of?
America is one of the more unequal countries in the world, but it’s also the richest, and we have one of the highest standards of living among large countries. Inequality statistics should truly trouble only those who make the mistake of viewing economic progress as a zero-sum game.
Actual living standards escape measurement by inequality metrics. Struggling countries such as Ethiopia and India are more equal than the U.S — but only because it’s easy to be equal when everyone’s pockets are empty. And if 99 percent of the population got a 1 percent wage hike, but the top 1 percent got a 2 percent raise, inequality would increase, even though living standards have improved for all.
What’s more important: that we live in an equal society, or that we all live well? By focusing on inequality, my generation misses the point. Most of the people outraged over income inequality are really just (rightfully) upset about poverty, because economic inequality doesn’t tell the whole story — in fact, it can even be a good thing.
In order to enrich himself in a capitalist economy, an entrepreneur usually can’t just coast his way to the top. Many members of the ever-reviled “1 percent” got there by providing an invaluable service, creating a successful company, or having an exceptional skill — and it’s good that our economy rewards their productivity. Take Steve Jobs, for example.
When the Apple CEO died, he had a net worth of over $10 billion. Sounds extreme, doesn’t it? It’s easy to see why some think such stark distributions of wealth are unfair, because there are so many other people struggling to get by. But actually, only by allowing some people to accumulate vast wealth can we create the incentive structure we need to raise living standards for everyone. According to the economist Deirdre McCloskey, innovators see only about 2 percent of the wealth their innovation creates — and the story of millionaires (many of whom are self-made) and billionaires such as Steve Jobs couldn’t provide a clearer example.
Apple employs 50,000 people and it’s estimated that they’ve also directly created eight to ten times that many jobs in other industries such as manufacturing and mail delivery. In total, Apple has created 2 million jobs across the United States, nearly 450,000 through suppliers and roughly 1.5 million more indirectly through their retail-store ecosystem.
How many of these jobs will be filled by members of my generation? At the very least, we all enjoy the fruits of unstifled innovation. Eighty-six percent of Millennials now own a smartphone, and nearly half of all Americans own a tablet of some kind. While economic inequality might outrage my generation, we’ve all benefited from the wealth creation it enables.
It’s important to realize that economic progress relies in part on inequality, because inequality can be an incentive. Profit gives individuals a reason to be productive, and the prospect of earning more is what keeps people going. If redistributive policies mean that people receive the same payoff regardless of effort, or even just a substantially more equal payoff, there will be less incentive to keep working, inventing, or producing — the things that make us all better off.
Still, it makes sense that many Millennials are upset about income inequality. It’s hard to stomach the fact that in our society some people have so much while others struggle to survive. Additionally, some research suggests that more-equal societies, all else equal, can grow faster. But while inequality might not be ideal, it’s certainly better than the policies progressives are advocating to address it.
High tax rates meant to combat inequality destroy the incentives for entrepreneurs to keep expanding their businesses and innovating even once they’ve made a fortune. According to the International Monetary Fund, job creation in France, Italy, and some Nordic countries has lagged behind the U.S in part because of redistributive policies. These countries might be more equal, and that’s probably why progressive young people often point to them as examples — but that equality hasn’t helped their economies.
Fundamentally, my generation needs to ask itself why economic equality is even the main goal. Even many liberals would agree that individuals aren’t equal in ability and don’t all deserve the same. We all have different work ethics, aptitudes, and abilities, and we should have different economic outcomes. The Left would be quick to point out that we don’t all start at the same point, and they’re often right — but equality of opportunity is where we need to improve, not equality of outcome.
It’s true that some inequality in our economic system has been carved out through corruption or cronyism, and that’s absolutely something to be concerned about. But our focus should be on real solutions that address absolute poverty — not income inequality — and ensuring equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. Millennials need to rethink our priorities and realize that income inequality isn’t an issue that should be dividing us.
During WWII the Brits were put on rations because of real shortages. After the war they continued on rations so as to keep "everybody equal". It was the dumbest thing they could have done and has left a deep scar on the their national mental process.
They no longer even question about why they want to restrict things that are available in abundance. They just do.
This is a simple to understand mechanism.
The primary reason is that thinking for oneself has been turned into a direct route to ostracization. Youngsters crave more than anything to be socially accepted. To do so, they have to be connected via their Facebook and Instagram thingys. But on those platforms, any sort of deviation from groupthink is immediately met with catcalls and scorn. Perhaps it has always been that way, but the technology and immediacy greatly expands the effect.
And then there is the nature of the schools they attend or have attended. Pure social justice indoc centers.
And then there is the SJW cause that enables the most attentive to implant themselves on the highest moral pedestal possible.
So really, all these kids have to do is to advocate for the disempowered and make sure they denigrate anyone who thinks for themselves and/or wishes to become an independent actor and to make sure they react to any imagined slight of those objectives as quickly as possible and it’s a done deal.
Having been in several European countries and a couple of Asian countries, I can easily say we have THE HIGHEST standard of living here. Better than most countries, if not all countries. Our poor live far better than most of the population in Thailand. People who don’t travel (likely the Dems who want Socialism) don’t have a clue how good we/they have it here!
Communist college professors are college professors because they are LOSERS. They could not hold a real job outside of academia. They demand equal income to protect their unproductive lives. And so they pass that on to their mush-brained students, to keep the students from asking “what is it exactly that you do for the world?”
Their self image is inconsistent with reality. Deep down, they know they will never build wealth and success and that anger is directed outward.
You are 100% on target - the company I work for is trying to train young people for skilled positions - machinists, welders, electricians, etc. Few of the 20 year olds are interested. They are taking temp jobs just to have money in their pocket and be able to walk away when they don’t feel like working. But they want the same pay as a trained skilled worker. It is a screwed up mess.
Piss off! I’m not miserable! I’ll be perfectly happy when I start getting a check every month.
I like the idea of wealth redistribution. As long as we start in Hollyweird and sports stadiums.
Stupid question since the answer is easy. The media, their professors tell them to be
Bart Simpson: Didn’t you wonder why you were getting checks for doing absolutely nothing?
Grampa: I figured ‘cause the Democrats were in power again.
Good points.
This touches on, why do different jobs have different pay scales.
My boss makes twice as much as I do. Yet she has greater responsibilities, a higher level of education, etc. to qualify to do that job. Is this really a matter of inequality, if a more difficult job pays more? Is this what the liberals and various millennial youth think?
The same is true throughout our capitalist economy. People in higher level jobs get paid more. People with specific skills get paid more, because not anyone off the street can do their jobs. Is that a matter of being unequal?
Young people can see many real world examples, of attempts to make things more equal. Check out Venezuela, Cuba, the old Soviet Union and former Warsaw pact countries, China before the free market reforms, etc. People were more equal, but they were equally poor and struggling to survive at a basic level. I’m sure these millennial youth really don’t want to live themselves at some subsistence level.
Yep, when I see Hollywood stars start writing checks to their more unfortunate brothers and sisters, I might be impressed.
Because, even though their discernment, maturity, experience, training and education are limited...they STILL want to receive more pay.
Someone needs to explain to them that for more money, you have to bring more TO the job, than just your groundless, childish demands.
They have been steeped in sin and godlessness since preschool.
Sloth, envy and coveting other’s stuff. They have turned sin into virtue. Envy, resentment and covetousness are now equality, justice and fairness.
Communist indoctrination by the Public School System backed by the Public Entertainment System.
They want it all now and to lazy to earn it fear dirty hard work.
“INDOCTRINATION INTO MARXIST THOUGHT PROCESSES IN HS AND COLLEGE......................”
Completely, totally, absolutely agree.
Some people don’t want to be responsible for themselves, because they’d much rather complain about those that are responsible.
“Socialism is the equal shoring of misery..............”
Shared misery is no misery at all. At least that’s how the rabid left sees it.
The movie ‘The Circle’ explains it perfectly.
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