Wealth Distribution in the USA

But aren't even sales jobs problematic? The way I see it, the revenue stream of a salesperson can be readily identified, but how much of that is his actual net contribution can't be known. The truckers, stock boys, warehousemen, cashiers, janitors, etc., also make their contributions which must be subtracted from the salesperson's, but since we can't quantify their contributions and can't know how much to subtract, we can't know the salesperson's contribution either. It seems to me that the revenue brought in by a salesperson is a good measure of performance, but it isn't a measure of his actual net contribution to revenue or profit.--Percy

Well, one could argue all day about subjective issues of fairness and morality, but granting the point for the sake of discussion, where lies the immorality? Does it lie in the hands of business management for merely carrying out their fiduciary responsibilities? The strength of a democratic capitalist society lies in each person freely pursuing their own desires and interests. The result is a wealthy society where most people live better lives than kings a couple hundred years ago.Or should the immorality be placed in the hands of government for allowing a legal and regulatory framework that causes vast inequities in the distribution of wealth?Most people prefer to demonize business leaders to a much greater degree than government leaders. After all, people can vote for their government, but they have no control over who runs businesses for which they're not stockholders. But the history of democratic government tells us that skill in garnering votes doesn't confer any great morality. Most who enter the American congress leave it rich if they serve multiple terms, and the money ultimately derives from big business lobbying. Congress may even be a more sure route to wealth than entering into business.But who is the greater moral transgressor, the businessman whose responsibility is to his stockholders and whose interests he advances by (in essence) bribing government officials, or the elected official whose responsibility is to the people who elected him and who he is screwing over royally.--Percy

The parts relevant to this thread were trickle down economics, taxes on corporations, and taxes on the rich.I guess the only comment I have is about trickle down economics, which we've discussed before. It always bothers me when someone claims that trickle down doesn't happen. Of course it happens. It's just that it doesn't work as an economic program.--Percy

The fast food strikes in the US that have recently been in the news reminded me of this thread, here's a sample news item: Fast Food Strikes Planned.Minimum wage was one of the issues that came up in this thread. Some thought the minimum wage should be a living wage, and that increasing it to a living wage (i.e., enough to support an average familiy) would address the income problems of many people. Others thought minimum wage jobs should be an entry point into the work force and not provide a living wage, and that increasing the minimum wage to a living wage would cause inflation and cost jobs.An industry expert interviewed today on NPR (sorry, didn't catch the name) said that a doubling of the minimum wage could be absorbed by the fast food industry by increasing food prices by about 1/3, or by the industry reducing franchise costs by around 3%, or by reducing costs through through increased automation, such as automated order taking and payment systems and more cooking automation.It seems that the US economy has declined to the point where there are now many, many people who can no longer find jobs that pay a living wage. While they were earning a living wage they came to have families and mortgages and other expenses, but now they must accept minimum wage jobs. Even worse, it might be the case that this is not a transient situation caused by a temporarily weak economy, but is rather the new normal, that even when the economy does recover that the jobs those people lost will not be coming back. Whatever are we to do?Those behind the fast food strikes propose doubling the minimum wage, but the effects might ripple through the economy, causing lost jobs and increased inflation. On the other hand, if the current situation really is the new normal, we can't allow it to split the country into nearly permanent classes of haves and have-notsThis means we must accept the inflation (it won't be permanent), and we must make provision to take care of those who do lose their jobs, which means government programs. The economy will adjust structurally, but it will take time. Those who have more will have to accept less, and conservatives will fight what they view as socialism each step of the way.--Percy