Re:Do the Rich Capture All the Gains from Economic Growth?
by Izkata on Thursday October 25, 2018 @01:54PM
(#18302927)
Forget retirement, something like 20% live paycheck-to-paycheck with no emergency fund and would be in crisis mode with an unexpected $500 bill.
Re:Do the Rich Capture All the Gains from Economic Growth?
by poulsbohemian on Thursday October 25, 2018 @05:04PM
(#18304567)
Yes, I know, and I suspect the parent poster knows too.
Re:Do the Rich Capture All the Gains from Economic Growth?
by krapp on Thursday October 25, 2018 @03:22PM
(#18303763)
>but it does lead one to question what's preventing greater participation.
It seems as if capitalism is designed to concentrate wealth in the hands of owners and shareholders. Employees were never intended to participate beyond the means granted them by their wages, and the incentives behind the financial systems with which they could tend to fleece anyone but the wealthy.
Somehow we've convinced ourselves that capitalism is supposed to be more egalitarian than it is. I think solutions begin with recognizing that the inequities we see in society are not a flaw in the system, but the system working as intended.
Maybe that's the real question then - what prevents people from participating in the economic growth?
The economy has seen strong growth for about a decade now, yet stock ownership in the broader population remains low. Unemployment is low, but incomes also remain low outside the top 10% of earners. Overall savings across the population is very low, with by some studies approx 36% having _no_ retirement savings.
So - I agree with your statement about economic growth not being uniform, but it does lead one to question what's preventing greater participation.