Whose Side Are You On? The Real Problems in America
80Last week I published a poll. The last question of the poll was: What do you think is the biggest problem facing America today?
I've received many interesting responses to that question, and I'll look at those answers here.
If you haven't taken that poll and put down your own answers, may I ask that you please go here and do so before you read the rest of this hub?
I received a variety of answers to the question. As I looked at the answers, I noticed that they fit into three different categories:
Unequal Power:
- Socialism/expanded government power
- money in politics, corporate power and influence on politics
- corruption, greed
- economic inequality
Poor quality of knowledge:
- divisive politics
- poor media performance
- lack of education/ignorance
- political correctness
Social Problems
- complacency/apathy
- too much religious influence
- loss of values/lack of responsibility/loss of empathy
- selfishness/hatred/prejudice
The Venn diagram above is my attempt to look at these problems and see how they relate to each other. They are interlocking problems. Expanded corporate influence and money have corrupted politics as well as the media - and without high-quality information from the media, we the people cannot make the right decisions about who to elect and what policies we should support.
Likewise, the experience of corruption causes people to become apathetic - and media that is driven by consumerism leads to complacency.
The different, specific problems that people named often fit into two or three of the main categories, as well. Economic inequality is a cause and a result of unequal power, as well as a cause and result of poor education, and a loss of values - both on the individual and the social level.
The diagram above is more of a force diagram. The arrows indicate causes and effects. Political corruption causes divisive politics and a manipulated media. This leads to poor education, which leads to both economic inequality and a loss of values.
It seems to me, from making these diagrams, that the root cause of our problems is the increasing power inequality in this country.
The rich are getting richer, and they are getting more access to government. The poor are getting poorer, and losing their access to government.
Take a look at the chart above. The top line indicates the change in income for the richest Americans, while the bottom line indicates the change for the lowest income Americans.
The trend might not look like much until you look at the scale on the left. The numbers double each time they go up. So while the top line, representing the richest 5% of American families, looks like it's in line with everyone else, you can see that it went from around $70,000 in 1947 to nearly $200,000 in 2007.
The image below shows the same data on a different scale.
The bottom 20% of American families saw a doubling of their income from 1947 to 1969 - and then the growth stopped. Their average income in 1970 was $25,000. In 2007 it was $27,864.
While the yearly income of the poorest Americans increased by a measly $2,864, the richest Americans saw their income increase by $83,701.
During this same time period, the taxes on the wealthiest Americans were cut. Unions were broken, and jobs were sent overseas and to Mexico.
America is becoming a nation of aristocrats and peasants.
I think this is a major cause of our problems.
Any thoughts?
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Thank you Arthur - that is what I am saying. I believe that a large, well educated, powerful middle class is essential to real democracy.
What can we do to fix this?
I think we have had this problem for many years but the bigger problem is that its getting worse.
It sounds like you are proposing is a redistribution of wealth which is a hideous concept. We do that now through taxation and enough is enough.
Breakfastpop - I'm not actually proposing anything here, just trying to look at the problem. Do you agree that this rise in income inequality is one of the major problems in America right now?
zzron - thanks for commenting. Things do seem to be getting worse!
William I do have an idea. I would like to do this myself but I do not have the resources. There are many people out there who are very educated in craftsmanship and real life experience. Could a school be set up to allow one citizen to teach another? Free of charge. Carpenters teaching eager youths an actual skill set. Plumbers etc... Retiree's would be great for teachers. I would be willing to teach sales skills in such an establishment. What do you think?
Pete Seeger said "Think globally, act locally." We all can do whatever we can as individuals--inform ourselves, vote in every election, local, state and national, devote some time to local public service of some kind, contribute money to charities and causes we believe in which serve the public interest--e.g. Public Citizen which focuses on election law reform among other issues. Common Cause is another worthwhile organization worth contributing to.
Arthur - I think that's a great idea. In fact I've seen similar efforts, mostly from the anarchist side of the political spectrum. I'm sure you could find some examples to model your school on.
Have you looked into the Transition Towns movement? A big part of that is "re-skilling". Check out some of the things that Hubber KerryG has written about this.
Right on Ralph!
Dear William,
The real problem right now in this country is the government squashing the free market and not letting the markets improve on their own. All these bailouts are a huge waste of money. We need to lower taxes and foster innovation. That is the true strength and spirit of America.
BP - I was about to post something about how the greatest increase in income inequality has been since we've cut taxes on the richest Americans. I might write a hub about that in the future - but I think that would be missing the forest for the trees.
I believe there's a combination of factors. A major one would be the decline of manufacturing and free trade, which has resulted in a major shift in the kinds of work that are available to Americans.
I agree about fostering innovation. I'm not so sure about lowering taxes - we've been doing that since the 80s and it hasn't made a great difference (but the debt has gone up since that time).
Your comments are appreciated as always!
wow, did you do this using powerpoint, the problem is complex, it is scary as the wealthy people are becoming wealthier and the poorer are becoming pporer too, I think that the biggest problem in every society is generally the political economy model, capitalism is always profit oriented, what sells and then politics is also driven by the economy and they supplement each other, the moral aspect and values are driven by the mode of production, It is always the "BEING" which determines consciousness not the other way around, I am saluting you for putting this one together, Maita
WILLIAM
it has been my contention that no one protected the middle class. Traditionally and probably true the word has been passed on from generation to generation that the Democrats represent the poor, and the Repulbicans represent the rich.
This leaves the middle class at the mercy of both of these parties. If the middle class disappears, the two party predators will not a have prey.
prettydarkhorse:
Thanks for reading - I made one of the graphs with excel. The Venn diagram I made with a free online tool, and I made the force diagram using Gliffy.com.
I think you may have hit on something there - our industrialized, consumer oriented society is bound to have certain effects on equality and our well being. Thank you for bringing that up - it's very important to keep in mind.
Thank you for the kind words!
Opinion Duck: I've never heard that actually said about the two parties but it's what I've always believed!
It seems to me that the middle class has more in common with the poor than with the rich. I also think that democracy is the rule of the majority - and the vast majority of people in America are not rich. So it seems natural to me that the political power of the rich should be limited - or maybe the power of the not so rich should be amplified.
Thanks for the thought provoking comment!
William, you are very welcome.
BTW, we could consider the poor as a black hole in a physics context, and the middle class at the edge of it. Sometimes a little piece of the middle class falls into the hole.
William, I would disagree with you. While the charts clearly show the income inequality, I would propose that the root cause of this is education. And, as much as everyone would like it to be so, the government cannot provide education for all. So, it comes down to personal accountability. One must provide for himself to the best of his ability.
Man, you ain't just whistling Dixie. The rich are getting richer, the working class is getting poorer. Kudos, William!
Hi William,
I rarely comment on political or religious hubs or forums because I don't usually like the overall tenor--I am, as they say, a lover not a fighter ;)
But... I have noticed that you have a gift for distilling content and delineating to the point that I could not resist, so here, I stick my toe in.
I think the real culprits are a powerful two party system, excessive smoke and mirrors, an unwillingness by the voting public to do their homework, and, dare I say it, laziness.
Instead of blindly following a party, we should vote only after exercising our unique human capacity to learn and evaluate a candidate or an issue. Because we don't, we get what's coming to us. Candidates always behave as their records indicate they will. They always have--and yet we are surprised when we get exactly who we voted for and the policies that are peppered with obvious extrapolations.
Why do we vote without really researching a candidate or issue? Don't we want to know what the voting record is? How about weighing real experience as it relates to the problems we have?
If we (the middle class) don't like something, why not pick up the phone and make a call to a congressman or senator. It is a powerful tool and it's easy. Why do we sit back and complain instead of exercising rights?
Oops. Sorry about the tanget and for going off-topic. --I'm just blowing off a bit of steam.
I'll probably get called a tea-bagger or an Acorn or something... actually I'm neither. I like to think of myself as an independent. I've voted from both parties for years, way before it was in vogue.
Thanks for the hub- I won't be offended if you disapprove this diatribe, I'll still be a fan ;)
LOL Linda - that's a great comment, not one I would delete. I think you are absolutely right - we need to exercise our judgement and our power by voting, writing letters, picking up the phone, and otherwise getting involved. That's not radicalism, that's democracy.
Thank you for commenting!
Carolina Muscle - thanks man. I give you the truth from this booth.
Kara - Education surely plays a role - but it can't be the root of the problem. More Americans have advanced degrees than ever before. But over the past decades we have seen manufacturing jobs being replaced with jobs at Starbucks and Wal Mart, along with many other major changes in society.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Education and hard work can make up for a lot, but if there's no jobs for you to apply your knowledge and hard work to, you might have to settle for bagging groceries or slinging coffee somewhere.
There's a very interesting article in the January-February Atlantic by James Fallows who recently spent a couple of years in China. He is optimistic about the future of the U.S. vis a vis China for several reasons. He said he met a lot of ex-patriates from the United States and Europe in China, but almost none who planned to immigrate and stay permanently there. Almost all were there temporarily for specific business or other purposes. In contrast, Fallows pointed to the fact that one-quarter of the members of the National Academy of Sciences were born abroad, an indication that America, much more than China and most other countries, still attracts many of the best and the brightest immigrants from around the world. Here's a link to the article http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201001/american-dec Unfortunately, to access it I think you have to be an Atlantic subscriber.
Thanks Ralph - I've always thought that China was on its way to superpower status. India is a rising power as well. The 'flattening' of the world is making things very interesting in many ways. I think the high wages paid here are attracting many people who got good educations abroad. But where does a highly educated American go to get a better wage?
Who can say what the future will bring exactly.
Wow,some really great comments on here! Lynda, I agree with you that people need to become more involved to make the two party system work. Everyone is very quick to blame the politicians (myself included), but the only day they do anything about it is election day (and some not even then). It is also becoming very difficult to become an informed citizen since there is no longer such a thing as unbiased media or true journalism. Kara, I absolutely agree that education is vital, however, how do you define educated? I know many people without a degree who are very intelligent, informed, and whom I would consider "educated". I also know many people with a degree, (or several), who are dumber than a bag of hammers. Great hub William!
Hi William,
I did a very quick glance at this hub and do not recall seeing any environmental issues listed (maybe I missed them).
Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know about (and invite you to read) my latest hub on human-caused global warming -- FINALLY FINISHED! Whew!
Your impressions appreciated.
Robert
Robert - you are right! I guess I was more interested in political problems. Environmental problems are both a result of and a driver of the problems I'm talking about in this hub. There are some writers who have done a good job of synthesizing an analysis of our political and environmental problems (Jared Diamond, Joseph Tainter, and Derrick Jensen are my faves). I'm not there yet - that is, I'm not capable of bringing those things together in a way that would do justice.
Thank you Bucky! I hope that we the people can make this a real democracy again. If the people lead, the leaders will follow, or so they say. Thank you for reading.
Interesting analysis! I always do wonder if these problems are actually more prevalent (proportionally) than in the past, or weather we have made an actual decline.
Being an eternal optimist, I do not feel we have gotten worse, but actually better. Our problems have become more complex (equality among more groups make it infinitely harder to "be fair" than it was when the expectation of fair treatment was so different.
I look at how much better and easier my life as a woman is than it was for my mother - her choices were slim, at best, when she was brave enough to divorce her abusive husband in the 1950s and was dismissed from her job when they found out she was pregnant!
We also have such a constant stream and access to information on everything. It's hard not to feel so negative with that constant stream of bad news slapping us up side the head all the time.
I remember standing in line at customs in the airport with my 11 yr old. We'd just enjoyed the time of our lives, living in Paris for two weeks. While we stood there, CNN was on everywhere, flashing security alerts and bad news. I really wasn't thrilled with my 11 yr old being bombarded with this and I was ready to turn around and go back!! I couldn't figure out what purpose this information had for me.
Anyway, it's food for thought. It's a shame so many people find so much negativity in their daily lives. But one can hardly blame them!
MB - you might be right. Perception is everything. In America, everyone except the homeless pretty much live like kings from any other period in time.
But I do think we are facing some major challenges. The downhill slide is not evident if you start from, say, the middle ages, but if you look from the 80s to now it's a different story.
Thank you for reading and commenting!
It's a great hub!
Thank you for not squashing my post because it wasn't totally "I agree!" I love good, respectful discussion. I learn so much for others that way!
Great hub,
Just think about it if we could find an answer we would be rich and in the rich upperclass.
Regards,
chris
brill hub. Poverty affects us all and shames humanity. Even the world bank has at long last recognised the difference between economic development and economic growth. When it gets invoved in developing countries poverty reduction programmes , it wants to see evidence of pro poor policies.
i remember a depressing survey carried out in Europe that asked simple questions such as: are there any poor people in your town /village/ . Why are they poor? In England only the higher classes tended to agree that there were and that it was the fault of the economic and political system. An incredibly high percentage argued that it was the fault of the individual. I knew then that the Labour party would lose the election and sure enough Reagan's buddy Thatcher was elected along with the most disgraceful bunch of Conservative Mps to ever pollute the House of commons.
Arthur Fontes 2 years ago
You are absolutely correct if you are saying the middle class is under attack. Robin hood is not going to fix these problems. Corruption runs rampant throughout government from the top to the school janitor stealing supplies. People are getting wealthy off the taxes on the poor. Bureaucracy is a never ending wealth consuming entity. How much out of every dollar put into govt programs goes directly to the people who the program was designed to help?