mal-distribution: reaching the boiling point?

8/7/2019 Mal-Distribution: Reaching the Boiling Point?

1/3

Mal-Distribution: Reaching the Boiling Point?

Paul Schlieben - 1 - synaptia.blogspot.com

Are we misreading what going on in the Mideast? Or, to put it another way, are

we missing its broader implications? Is what we're seeing there a precursor of

what we're likely to see here and in other countries in the future? Are the spread

of Wisconsin-inspired demonstrations related to the unrest were seeing

elsewhere? Are these revolutions the natural consequence of the mal-distribution

of wealth?

We're a country caught between two virtues, the virtue of Personal Responsibility

the idea that each person should make his own way in the world and control his

own fortunes and the virtue of

Social Responsibility the notion

that we are all in this together and

the wealth of the nation should

devolve to the benefit of all, that

we'd all be better off (even the

wealthiest among us) if the wealth

were distributed more equitably.

The challenge is to reconcile these

two seemingly opposingvirtues.

I believe that the fundamental

problem is that therejust isn't enough work and that this will only get worse.

Asthe use of technology expands, jobs slowly disappear; work gradually

becomes obsolete.1 Today, most workers are At-Will employees, with the

employer holding all the cards. Purchase new technology to displace personnel?GreatFewer people to feed and the government will pick up the tab. Contrast

this with the 1950s, when 28% of our workforce belonged to unions,2 virtually all

employed in the private sector. But, such is the wealth of the nation that even the

1 See my previous blog post: In the Shrinking of a Pie2 In 2003, 11.5% of workers are union members, three-fourths working in the public sector. In 1954, virtually nopublic workers were union members.


2/3



poorest will survive, somehow. Look at Egypt where the majority live on two

dollars a day. Even they get by.

As the divide between the rich and the poor grows, and it becomes harder for the

rich to hide their fortunes, the unemployed and poor get angry. They feel

cheated. Sometimes, as in Saudi Arabia, the government tries to buy off its

people, but usually, by the time anger has boiled over, its too late. You can put

a lid on it, but it only boils all the harder. As long as there have been revolutions,

it has ever been so.3

Our system requires that we work or accept being poor. But in the USA, thereare five applicants for every job opening, and this is not likely to improve soon, if

at all. A college education is no longer a guarantee of employment.4Time will tell

whether todays high unemployment is cyclical. Evidence suggests its not.

Theprevailing fiction is that the wealthyearn their money by the sweat of their

brow and deserve to keep every penny. However they gained their advantage,

they'renowin a position to leverage their power and resources to acquire even

more of both without much personal effort, at a cost to our nationswell-being.

The trend of the past ten years is indisputable; the rich have become much richer

50% richer while the rest of the population has lost ground; many,are far

worse off. Most would agree that, whatever the cause, for the good of the nation,

this trend must be reversed. But how?

The challenge is to get our leaders, most of whom are part of the privileged

classes, to talkhonestly about our problems without being drowned out by the

chattering classes and a well-financed opposition. Corporate influence in

Washington and its ownership of the media ensures that the ideology that favors

wealth is in ascendance.This mustchange. We need to achieve a balance.

3For a brief historical perspective, see NYTimes: Every Revolution Is Revolution in Its Own Way4 See NYTimes: Educated, Unemployed and Frustrated


3/3



Our political leaders hide behind the popularillusion of American Exceptionalism,

a fictionthey contradict at their peril. But what if it turns out that were not

exceptional; that were just the same as everyone else, and what we're

witnessing is a worldwidephenomenon, a quake with its epicenter at a fruit-stand

in a small village in northern Tunisia that set off a tsunami that just hasn't

reached our shores yet? What then?

The only thing that prevents us from talking about these things is ideological

stasis, and the fear of being wrong. Stipulated: Democrats are wrong 80% of the

time and so are Republicans. Now,lets talk.

mal-distribution: reaching the boiling point?

Documents