Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Should we be mad at the 1%?



 I think her argument is part straw man, part wrong, and part ok.

The straw man part is that the anger of the 99% is directed at the 1%.  I don't think this is generally the case.  The anger is directed at a self-reproducing class system that is supported by political decisions that have lowered tax rates and deregulated banking.  Americans still emulate rich people and want the lifestyle sold as the American Dream, which is increasingly becoming off-limits to the majority of Americans because our economic policies have been directed at increasing the gains at the top while eroding the social safety net at the middle and bottom.  

Furthermore, the values she attributes to the 1% aren't exclusive to the 1%.  Part of the reason the anger is bubbling up now is that you can do everything right--go to college, get a job, get married, and because of complex economic problems coupled with a political trend that has eroded the middle class, all that can be swept out from under you in a heartbeat.  There's much less security now unless you are a member of the 1%.  The implication that the 1% deserve to enjoy these benefits is accompanied by the implication that the rest of us don't, whether she intends it or not.  

The wrong part is the idea that getting everyone a bachelor's degree is going to fix this problem.  First of all, the skill set needed in the economy now are associate's degrees, for jobs whose wages are not going to do much about inequality.  Second of all, the value of a bachelor's is diluted as more people attain them--this is a pretty basic economic concept of generalized equilibrium.  Third of all, the inequality itself is a contributing factor to why it's harder and harder for people to attain BAs.  

The other wrong part is ignoring the fact that you're going to need redistributive tax policies in order to fund the policies that will increase education.

The true part goes back to the straw man part. We shouldn't villify individual 1-percenters; it is the system we are all a part of that produces such unequal benefits for 1-percenters that we should be railing at, and channeling our anger politically. 

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