The biggest drivers of income inequality are ..... and what type of fix do you believe would work?

[Guilds]

@Eagle-Keeper

The article is misleading because the wealth is not being redistributed from lower incomes to higher. Consider this analysis from the article:

“Notably, it isn’t just those in the middle who’ve been hit. RAND found that full-time, prime-age workers in the 25th percentile of the U.S. income distribution would be making $61,000 instead of $33,000 had everyone’s earnings from 1975 to 2018 expanded roughly in line with gross domestic product, as they did during the 1950s and ’60s.”

The reason the salaries did not expand in line with GDP was, as I explained in the OP, due to Globalization and technology, not as a result of income redistribution. The thing is that for a certain portion of the middle class, especially in the tech related fields, they did benefit economically. The problem is how Globalization and technology impacted those low skilled jobs, particularly in business with lower type profit margins.

Here is a graph, that shows how the wealth has been distributed.
Prior to the 70’s, when the wealthy got more, the other brackets also got a similar “raise”.

Notice the difference?

As far as the causes, globalization is certainly a factor, as is the reduction of unions, and automation.

[WuWei]

A license to braid hair! We live in a free country!

[WuWei]

@Guilds

as is the reduction of unions

[Eagle-Keeper]

The median income in 1975 was $42,000? Not according to this, which was $13,720.

https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1977/demo/p60-105.html#:~:text=As%20indicated%20in%20the%20advance,over%20the%20revised%201974%20median.

I remember talking to my aunt and uncle about their salaries around that time and it was no where near $42,000.

[Eagle-Keeper]

@WuWei

@Guilds

as is the reduction of unions

Globalization again. Millions of those factory/union jobs went overseas.

[Guilds]

@Eagle-Keeper

The median income in 1975 was $42,000? Not according to this, which was $13,720.

https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1977/demo/p60-105.html#:~:text=As%20indicated%20in%20the%20advance,over%20the%20revised%201974%20median.

I remember talking to my aunt and uncle about their salaries around that time and it was no where near $42,000.

Look at the chart, they put all of it in 2018 numbers.

[Guilds]

@Eagle-Keeper

Globalization again. Millions of those factory/union jobs went overseas.

Agreed. That is part of it. Maybe even 50% of it…but there are other factors as well.

A CEO in the 70’s earned about 50x what the average worker earned.
Today is is 500x more.

Are CEO’s that much more effective today?

[PurpnGold]

@Eagle-Keeper

Globalization for me is easily number 1, which comes down to simple math. So imagine a company that initially had say 10 million customers then after globalization that now goes to 100 million or more. Profits are significantly increased as a result. Globalization also had the following double effect; companies could then produce things for pennies on the dollar outside the US and the US worker now has to compete salary wise with this significantly lower paid workforce.

This is the logical outcome of capitalism. Capitalism seeks to maximize profits.

[RayStark]

When I was in New Delhi in 1994 the Government was trying out a program to break the caste system.

One tactic was big ads on the city buses proclaiming “Untouchable is a curse!”

Don’t know how that worked out.

[Eagle-Keeper]

@Guilds

@Eagle-Keeper

The median income in 1975 was $42,000? Not according to this, which was $13,720.

https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1977/demo/p60-105.html#:~:text=As%20indicated%20in%20the%20advance,over%20the%20revised%201974%20median.

I remember talking to my aunt and uncle about their salaries around that time and it was no where near $42,000.

Look at the chart, they put all of it in 2018 numbers.

From my link:

As indicated in the advance report on income, the 1975 median family income of $13,720

I get the point the author is trying to make but what happened over the past few decades regarding income inequality is as I stated in the OP.

[Eagle-Keeper]

@Guilds

Are CEO’s that much more effective today?

The companies are. So after paying their employees fair market value of their salaries the profits margins over the years have afforded the companies to pay their CEO’s that much.

[Axxowiz]

The big tech companies do hire they just do the most hiring from India, people don’t seem to give a ■■■■ so there you go. It’s one of the things Biden said he would do was rip up the H1B limitation executive order by Trump.

[Guilds]

@Eagle-Keeper

The companies are. So after paying their employees fair market value of their salaries the profits margins over the years have afforded the companies to pay their CEO’s that much.

Hey, if you are OK with the owners, CEO’s and upper management raking in higher salaries due to all these increased profits, and the workers in the companies making much less …go for it…as you seem to think it is OK…can’t fix it…deal with it.

[WuWei]

They aren’t making less than they did in the 70s.

[Guilds]

@WuWei

They aren’t making less than they did in the 70s.

Yes, they are.

I am not saying it.

It is math.

[WuWei]

No they aren’t.

[Eagle-Keeper]

@Guilds

@Eagle-Keeper

The companies are. So after paying their employees fair market value of their salaries the profits margins over the years have afforded the companies to pay their CEO’s that much.

Hey, if you are OK with the owners, CEO’s and upper management raking in higher salaries due to all these increased profits, and the workers in the companies making much less …go for it…as you seem to think it is OK…can’t fix it…deal with it.

I wasn’t looking to infer any emotional and/or moral conclusions on the current economic realities. Nor am I saying it’s good. Regarding taxes I don’t oppose higher marginal taxes on upper income earners and I’m perfectly fine with higher capital gains taxes on such earners.

[Guvnah]

@Guilds

Here is a graph, that shows how the wealth has been distributed.

That’s not distributing wealth. That’s a chart about EARNING income.

[Eagle-Keeper]

@Axxowiz

The big tech companies do hire they just do the most hiring from India, people don’t seem to give a ■■■■ so there you go. It’s one of the things Biden said he would do was rip up the H1B limitation executive order by Trump.

This is one of the many facets of liberal hypocrisy. On the one hand they cry about income inequality and Americans not getting good paying, but on the other hand have no problem importing millions of people from India and China into these good paying tech jobs.

WHY THE ■■■■ WASN’T THERE A PUSH TO GET MORE BLACK AMERICANS INTO THESE GOOD PAYING JOBS OVER THE PAST 30-40 YEARS???

[Axxowiz]

H1B visas are abused past the point of absurdity at least in software development. I won’t go into again but every major company I worked for in IT abused the rules with no ramifications. Remember a few years ago when Disney got caught for making an American train his H1B replacement to work at a 1/3rd of his wage.

Obviously if he had to train his replacement and American could do the work. I never understood why outsourcing in-sourcing became a partisan issue it should be condemned by all Americans.