On 2013-12-12, at 8:40 AM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> Subject Line Amendment:
>
> RE: [lbo-talk] Another poll registering discontent and confusion of many
> working people.
>
> "The Working Class" does not, at this time, denote any entity about which
> one can make propositions.
>
> Class is a _process_; you reify it.
>
> Carrol
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
> On Behalf Of Marv Gandall
> Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2013 6:02 AM
> To: Pen-L Economics; LBO
> Subject: [lbo-talk] Another poll registering US working class discontent and
> confusion
>
> (Sample shows most poorer workers, many non-white, favouring government
> intervention in the economy, but "middle income" workers still clinging to
> faith in "the market")
>
> Americans Say Dream Fading as Income Gap Hurts Chances
> By David J. Lynch
> Bloomberg News
> Dec 11, 2013
>
> The widening gap between rich and poor is eroding faith in the American
> dream.
>
> By almost two to one -- 64 percent to 33 percent -- Americans say the U.S.
> no longer offers everyone an equal chance to get ahead, according to a
> Bloomberg National Poll. And some say the government isn't doing much to
> help.
>
> "There's a lot of policies that make it easier for the rich to get richer
> and the poor to go nowhere," says Ryan Sekac, 26, a mechanical engineer in
> Westerly, Rhode Island.
>
> The Dec. 6-9 poll follows public statements by leaders, from President
> Barack Obama to Pope Francis, expressing alarm about growing income
> inequality. The richest 10 percent of Americans last year earned more than
> half of all income, the largest total since 1917, according toEmmanuel Saez,
> an economist at the University of California at Berkeley.
>
> "Everyone on both sides of the aisle talks about the American dream," says
> Sekac. "Right now, that's not something everyone in this country can aspire
> to."
>
> Still, respondents are almost evenly split on the need for government action
> to narrow the income gap: 45 percent say new policies are needed, while 46
> percent say it would be better to allow the market to operate freely even if
> the gap gets wider.
>
> Spanning Incomes
>
> The lack of faith is especially pronounced among those making less than
> $50,000 a year: By a 73 percent to 24 percent margin, they say the economy
> is unfair. Even 60 percent of those whose annual income is $100,000 or more
> bemoan the absence of a fair deal while 39 percent say everyone has an equal
> shot to advance.
>
> In recent weeks, public attention to the rich-poor gap has mounted. Obama
> gave a speech last week saying economic trends have "jeopardized
> middle-class America's basic bargain, that if you work hard, you have a
> chance to get ahead."
>
> That address followed the pope's Nov. 26 criticism of inequality. "Such an
> economy kills," the pontiff said.
>
> Obama's rise from humble origins to become the first black U.S. president
> has done nothing to ease public concern.
>
> "More people who are of color get opportunities now than they did," but a
> lack of education holds too many back, says David Bakker, 56, a model-train
> builder in Baltimore.
>
> In the Bloomberg poll, 68 percent of Americans say the income gap is
> growing, while 18 percent say it is unchanged and 10 percent say it's
> shrinking.
>
> Public Divided
>
> While the public is divided over whether the government should take steps to
> close the income gap, support for greater action is strongest among
> lower-income Americans, with 52 percent saying officials should do something
> and 35 percent putting their faith in the market.
>
> The U.S. does less to reduce inequality through tax and transfer policies
> than most advanced nations, including the U.K., Ireland or Spain, according
> to Janet Gornick, a professor of political science and sociology at the City
> University of New York Graduate Center.
>
> Before taking into account government policies, U.S. inequality isn't much
> different than countries such as Denmark and Sweden, she says.
>
> Bakker says the 1950s was "a golden age in the U.S.," when the top marginal
> tax rates exceeded 90 percent. He says the government could do more to
> provide greater educational opportunities for low-income Americans.
>
> "You're not going to kill the economy by increasing the tax rate on those
> who benefit the most from the country's infrastructure," he says.
>
> Little Faith
>
> High-income respondents split almost evenly on the need for government
> action. Middle-income Americans, those making $50,000 to $100,000, favor
> relying on the market by 54 percent to 39 percent.
>
> Some have little faith that either the government or the free market will
> bring them relief. Diane Kraft, 54, a homemaker in Denton, Texas, says she
> recently quit her job as a grocery cashier after her employer reduced her
> hours because of the new health-care law, the Patient Protection and
> Affordable Care Act.
>
> Now, as she searches for a new job, she says she finds herself competing
> with Mexican immigrants who will work for less. "The government keeps taking
> and taking and taking from us," she says. "Eventually, people are going to
> strike back."
>
> Remarks Resonate
>
> The pope's recent remarks have resonated with Catholics and non-Catholics
> alike. By 64 percent to 27 percent, poll respondents agree that government
> leaders should pay more attention to income inequality and less to the needs
> of the market.
>
> By 56 percent to 35 percent, they endorse his criticism of "trickle-down"
> economics, which provides tax cuts for the wealthy as a means to spur job
> growth. And 66 percent say they have a favorable view of the pontiff
> compared with just 13 percent who view him unfavorably.
>
> "I think he's spot on," says Donald Gottesman, 48, a foundation executive in
> Los Angeles. "I'm Jewish, so I don't have any particular reverence for the
> pope. But he's really thinking about what's happening out there and trying
> to speak from his pulpit and cause change."
>
> The public's view of the economy has improved somewhat from the September
> Bloomberg poll, which was conducted in the days before a partial government
> shutdown.
>
> More Americans say the economy is getting stronger: 33 percent see
> improvement, compared with 27 percent who said that three months earlier,
> while 25 percent say conditions are worsening. Forty-one percent say the
> economy is about the same as the last 12 months.
>
> Job Growth
>
> With the economy generating an average of 189,000 jobs per month so far this
> year, 40 percent say job growth is improving, up from 36 percent in
> September. Twenty-seven percent say the employment market is getting
> tougher.
>
> "I feel like it's slowly moving forward," says Albert Marini, 66, a retired
> information technology manager in Virginia Beach, Virginia. "We'll probably
> have an OK year next year."
>
> The effects of rising inequality shadow any economic discussion. Marini says
> his son, a mechanical engineer, is able to give his two granddaughters the
> education they need to get ahead. Not everyone is so fortunate.
>
> "If we don't address it, it'll just continue to deteriorate, the gap will
> just continue to get bigger," says Marini. "And who knows what that will
> lead to in 10 or 15 years? Social unrest? Economic unrest?"
>
> The survey of 1,004 adults was conducted by Selzer & Co., a Des Moines,
> Iowa-based pollster. Results carry a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1
> percentage points.
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