Government gets blamed for widening wealth gap

[alp227]

Source: SF Chronicle

The state and federal governments are largely responsible for the widening gap between the rich and poor in the United States and should institute policy changes - including reforms to the tax code and more investment in education- to help reverse this 30-year trend, economists and researchers told state lawmakers Wednesday.

While many of the changes would need to take place at the federal level, professors from UC Berkeley and UC Davis said state leaders can play a role by instituting a more progressive tax system that asks wealthy individuals and successful corporations to pay more, and by investing in education and social services that help lower-income people succeed. Many of those public programs have been cut as California has faced budget deficits.

Speaking to the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review, the academics laid out the staggering rise in income inequality that has occurred over the past three decades and said policymakers need to take more responsibility for the change.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/07/BAR91M9JKN.DTL

[cstanleytech]

1. Long as the wealthy are legally allowed to bribe politicians and government workers

I do not sadly believe anything will really change soon that will address the problem for the long term especially considering how the republican tea party is fighting so hard for the wealthy.

[Hotler]

5. Nothing will start to change until there are

tens of thousands of citizens in the streets in every state. Sitting behind our keyboards will not cut it. There should be at least 2-3 hundred thousand camped out on the Washington mall. The small numbers at OWS protest is not enough.

[CreekDog]

8. "allowed to bribe government workers"?

where is the bribery of government workers happening where it is "allowed"?

[Bogart]

2. Perhaps someone should let OWS in on this "secret."

[Evasporque]

3. Why would the Republicans want to do that? This was the plan....they really meant trickle down...

the smallest of trickle...

[Laelth]

4. k&r for right action. n/t

-Laelth

[Lance_Boyle]

6. states that seek to implement responsible changes in business taxation

will find themselves with no business as suck-ass "right-to-work" states like my own and the rest of the South bribe companies with tax breaks and ready populations of slavish labor.

[sarcasmo]

7. Serving the rich is what they do best.