Tired of Income Inequality? Get Used to It.

[Barefootsies]

Imagine that. People will actually have to "work" for what they want.

Economist Tyler Cowen has some advice for what to do about America's income inequality: Get used to it. In his latest book, Average Is Over, Cowen lays out his prediction for where the U.S. economy is heading, like it or not:

"I think we'll see a thinning out of the middle class," he tells NPR's Steve Inskeep. "We'll see a lot of individuals rising up to much greater wealth. And we'll also see more individuals clustering in a kind of lower-middle class existence."

It's a radical change from the America of 40 or 50 years ago. Cowen believes the wealthy will become more numerous, and even more powerful. The elderly will hold on to their benefits ... the young, not so much. Millions of people who might have expected a middle class existence may have to aspire to something else.

FULL STORY

[L-Pink]

"He also predicts that everyone will be ruthlessly graded — every slice of their lives, monitored, tracked and recorded."

"Everything is rated. Everything will have a Yelp review. And if you're a worker, there'll be, like, credit scores. There already are, to some extent. How reliable are you? How many jobs have you had? Have there been lawsuits filed against you? How many traffic tickets? And I think we're also moving to a world where we measure much more precisely. But we as individuals will quite often find this oppressive."

Sounds like the future will suck if you ask me. I'm glad I grew up when I did. I'm glad I'm in a position to not worry about my "Yelp status"

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[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Sounds like the future will suck if you ask me.

Only if you're a rabble on the fry-o-lator.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by Barefootsies

Only if you're a rabble on the fry-o-lator.

I'm a private person, no facebook, no personal info out there for public consumption. I like being below the radar. The info age is also the loss of privacy age and that sucks.

[Barefootsies]

Thank your government.

Originally Posted by L-Pink

The info age is also the loss of privacy age and that sucks.

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

- Benjamin Franklin

[L-Pink]

Students graduating from college with huge debts entering a lower paying workplace is going to lead to a poor quality of life and real shitty attitudes from coming generations.

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Students graduating from college with huge debts entering a lower paying workplace is going to lead to a poor quality of life and real shitty attitudes from coming generations.

You mean worse than the current lot of lazy, apathetic, self centered, entitlement class youth today?

Oh goodie. I'll be waiting with bells on.

[BlackCrayon]

Originally Posted by Barefootsies

Only if you're a rabble on the fry-o-lator.

you won't be saying that when the ability for an individual to set up a business/sell a product is no longer possible due to corporate lobbying.

[Barry-xlovecam]

I read that the amount of wealth in the hands of the top 1% is at its highest level since 1928 ... We are cruising for a bruising real bad ...

[Tom_PM]

He seems to be predicting 20 years ago

[Grapesoda]

Originally Posted by Barefootsies

Imagine that. People will actually have to "work" for what they want.



FULL STORY

the middle class seems to be a short lived phenomena in the relative course of social economic history

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by Grapesoda

the middle class seems to be a short lived phenomena in the relative course of social economic history

http://education.yahoo.net/articles/....htm?kid=1O1BA

[arock10]

Tell that to Marie Antoinette

[marcop]

Originally Posted by arock10

Tell that to Marie Antoinette

Yes, radical income equality sounds like a recipe for revolution.

[sperbonzo]

Originally Posted by BlackCrayon

you won't be saying that when the ability for an individual to set up a business/sell a product is no longer possible due to corporate lobbying.

Which is why we need to take away the government's ability to have so much control over business. If they don't have the power to raise the bar higher and higher to starting a business, then the lobby won't have anything to manipulate.



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[96ukssob]

of course this was coming and if you couldn't see it... well, you should be signing up for the one way mission to Mars.

cost of living, expenses and everything is going UP, so that only means you need to make MORE. think of all the toys and gadgets that were around 40-50 years ago, now think of how many are around today... that's a shit ton of money people spend on their toys alone!

we'll see the bell curve start to flatten, if not shift to the right as wealth increases amongst the middle class, while hte lower middle and lower class income drops significantly.

Can't blame anyone but ourselves for this...

[tony286]

it makes sense with technology you need less and less people to do jobs. Driveless cars, think about all the jobs that will go bye bye once they are all over the streets. Whats a bus driver or a cab driver going to do for work?

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by tony286

it makes sense with technology you need less and less people to do jobs. Driveless cars, think about all the jobs that will go bye bye once they are all over the streets. Whats a bus driver or a cab driver going to do for work?

Below is a link to a great 60 Minutes video and article about robotics decimating the workforce even more in the next few years here and especially in the countries like China that are growing based on manufacturing.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_16...ng-job-growth/

[pornmasta]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

I'm a private person, no facebook, no personal info out there for public consumption. I like being below the radar. The info age is also the loss of privacy age and that sucks.

you are probably right about facebook, but it is for example easy to monitor this board to learn about your life (it is probably also the same thing for me)

[Rochard]

This is the key of what society is based on - this goes back to that fast food thread a while back. You work shitty crappy jobs until you prove you can are worthy of doing more.

My cousin is 45, lives in Florida, works as a front desk clerk at a hotel (read: entry level position), rejoices loudly every time she has a day off, yet bitches every time her boss gives her responsibilities and then has the gall to bitch about how she can't get a promotion and is always broke.

If you can't figure out why you are in the spot you are in, you don't deserve to get ahead.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by Rochard

This is the key of what society is based on - this goes back to that fast food thread a while back. You work shitty crappy jobs until you prove you can are worthy of doing more.

My cousin is 45, lives in Florida, works as a front desk clerk at a hotel (read: entry level position), rejoices loudly every time she has a day off, yet bitches every time her boss gives her responsibilities and then has the gall to bitch about how she can't get a promotion and is always broke.

If you can't figure out why you are in the spot you are in, you don't deserve to get ahead.

The upcoming problem will be a promotion to what?

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by Rochard

If you can't figure out why you are in the spot you are in, you don't deserve to get ahead.

[Ferus]

Originally Posted by Rochard

If you can't figure out why you are in the spot you are in, you don't deserve to get ahead.

Hard not to agree with that

[BFT3K]

Over the past 30 years the US has exported over 22 million jobs with no penalties to the multi-national corporations that benefited at the detriment of the citizens. BOTH parties are responsible for this.

Over the past 20 years the US has spent over 5 TRILLION DOLLARS on defense, mostly bolstered by a fake war on terror. BOTH parties are responsible for this.

Our "elected officials" no longer work for the people, so we no longer need them... at least not the current batch.

YES, it is PAST the time we had a REAL revolution here in the US.

Heads literally need to be rolling in the streets, starting with the heads of the Federal Reserve.

[DigitalDesire]

The one constant in life is change. This is nothing new. Some things always change for the better, and some for the worse. Same game, different generation of players.

[BFT3K]

Originally Posted by Barefootsies

Only if you're a rabble on the fry-o-lator.

Personally I've never worked a day in my life in fast food, but ridiculing less fortunate Americans, rather than targeting the owners of this country that have created this vast income inequality, is short-sighted at best.

"Divide and conquer" is a real thing, and you are playing into this scenario like a well controlled puppet.

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

The upcoming problem will be a promotion to what?

General manager, then maybe a regional manager, or hotel owner?

She has the same exact job I had twenty years ago. The difference is twenty years ago when I was a front desk clerk at a hotel I was also a full time college student.

[signupdamnit]

Originally Posted by BFT3K

Over the past 30 years the US has exported over 22 million jobs with no penalties to the multi-national corporations that benefited at the detriment of the citizens. BOTH parties are responsible for this.

Over the past 20 years the US has spent over 5 TRILLION DOLLARS on defense, mostly bolstered by a fake war on terror. BOTH parties are responsible for this.

Our "elected officials" no longer work for the people, so we no longer need them... at least not the current batch.

YES, it is PAST the time we had a REAL revolution here in the US.

Heads literally need to be rolling in the streets, starting with the heads of the Federal Reserve.

Well the demographics change heavily favors a more progressive shift in the U.S. So unless the elite are going to shut down Democracy or start killing off people some things are going to be changing here in the next 20 years or so. There will not be any need for revolution as long as we keep Democracy in place.

People call the younger generations entitled and lazy but they aren't the ones responsible for this mess. It was us and the generations before us. They are merely the victims of it. What is going to happen as this generation grows up and compares what they have to what their parents had? I think anger will be the reaction. The question is who that anger will fall upon and what will come of it.