In the latest issue of The Nation, Robert Reich, the force behind the movie “Inequality For All,” lists 10 practical steps to reverse the growing inequality in this country. The gap between the rich and poor has widened in the “recovery.” According to Reich, 95% of all the economic gains since the recovery began have gone to the top 1%.
I’ll list Reich’s first five suggestions. The comments are mine.
1. Make work pay. Raise the minimum wage. No worker who works full time should live in poverty.
2. Unionize low-wage workers. You can’t outsource a Subway sandwich maker. Nor can she (and it’s usually a she) be replaced by a robot. It’s time for unions.
3. Invest in education. The one area in which poor people can gain capital is education. It should be available from pre-school through college.
4. Invest in infrastructure. Bad public transportation, lousy roads, bad water supplies, crappy internet access--we are not #1.
5. Pay for those investments with higher taxes on the wealthy. Our whole tax structure is geared to loopholes for the wealthy. And now the PA legislature is proposing to increase the sales tax, a regressive tax. It’s time the rich paid their fair share.
To me none of these suggestions are outlandish, or even radical. They are common sense.
I’ll give you the remaining five tomorrow.
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