Private companies must take employees, public into consideration after recession
Was it really a gaffe, though?
Certainly, the middle class isn't doing well. Forty percent of middle class wealth, existing mostly in real estate and mutual funds, was wiped out in three years. That's 20 years of progress evaporated; middle class wealth numbers have plummeted to 1992 levels.
The poor aren't doing well, for sure. One-third of Americans are defined as "struggling," making less than double the poverty line. Just under 7 percent are in deep poverty, making less than half the poverty line. Both those numbers have jumped since the Great Recession began.
But corporations are doing just fine. Corporate profits are at an all-time high, ballooning from $1.4 trillion before the recession to around $1.7 trillion just two years after its supposed end. There was a sharp dip in between, but thanks to massive government bailouts companies recovered nicely. So how are they giving back?
It's quite simple — they aren't. Wages as a percentage of gross domestic product are at record lows. Corporations have repaid American taxpayers by hoarding their profits and shipping American jobs overseas to cheaper third-world countries. Instead of investing profits back into the community, as responsible businesses are supposed to so, profits are being funneled to shareholders and corporate officers.
The rich are doing fantastically. Since Ronald Reagan popularized "trickle-down economics," the top 1 percent of Americans has seen their wealth doubled. The top 0.01 percent has tripled its wealth.
So at the same time that a tiny percentage of Americans are succeeding beyond anyone's wildest dreams, the vast majority of us are seeing our dreams crumble. Jobs are hard to find and are usually low-paying when they can be found. The American dream of homeownership is nearly impossible. College debt is at a record high.
The private sector is doing just fine, because our government is in its pocket. There is a revolving door between the private sector and public service; the same people who regulate corporations leave office to be rewarded with lucrative jobs by the same industries they were supposed to watch over. Corporate officers take their stolen wealth and use it to run for office or buy the loyalties of politicians already there.
This is where the anger of the Occupy movement comes from. This is why college students in Canada are rioting. This is why citizens across Europe are marching in the streets. There is a building understanding of exactly how close government and industry really are and exactly how high a price ordinary people pay when the rich control regulation.
We're experiencing just the opening turmoil that occurs when capitalism is allowed to run rampant.
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