Is the main culprit of the situtation really the obscene inequality of income and wealth?

[IDHow]

The experts say that rewarding success is good for the economy, so we must not by any means have higher taxes on the rich. Well, isn't it also true that the poorer people have a higher propensity to consume instead of stash it away or speculate with it? What is happening is that ever more wealth gets into the hands of the people that are so rich they don't know what to do with it. There's ever more capital available for speculation of all sorts; oil speculation, food price speculation, housing speculation, currency speculation and so on. What good does that cause? How can we ever expect the economy to get back on its feet without taking vast amounts of money from the rich and give it back to the people that needs it?

[Naturyl]

1. The problem is a skewed definition of "success."

"Rewarding success" is code for rewarding greed. When we define "success" as merely the accumulation of enormous piles of money, it should come as no surprise to us that the nation is confused about what ought to be a simple issue.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. I'd say take one step farther back to see the culprit

The lionization, the utter worship of the wealthy, powerful, and greedy has caused us to allow this ridiculous inequality.

And then, yes, that leads to just about all the other shit.

(Not forgetting, along the way, that racism and other forms of bigotry make the American populace easy to divide and conquer)

[TBF]

3. The main culprit of the situation is Capitalism -

which rewards consumption and greed.

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Capitalism, in turn, is just a system set up to convince us that whoever has the most money now

is entitled to damn near all of it in the future.

That's why lots of people do the work and the owners get the lion's share of the benefit.

So that's STILL just an expression of worship and servitude toward the already-rich.

If we stopped believing that rich people were special, better than us, entitled to whatever they get, then we could start to fix our economic system.

[SharonAnn]

7. The trouble with socialism is socialism. The trouble with capitalism is

CAPITALISTS!

In other words, unending greed.

[TBF]

8. Nope, it's not the "bad actors" - it's the system that is inherently unequal. nt

[DonCoquixote]

12. as opposed to

There are "socialists" in Scandinavia that make economies whose companies just happen to be successful, and then there are "socialists" in North Korea that have their people eating grass..a lot has to be said for the "actors".

[Scuba]

4. Depends on how you define "culprit". If you mean the tipping point that....

...results in the economy tanking and great unrest occurring in the country, yes.

If you mean what flaw in our Democracy prevents the disparity from being corrected, then the Citizens United ruling is the culprit.

[leftstreet]

5. K&R

[earthboundmisfit]

9. More than greed, it's plain old selfishness.

Ugly, mean-spirited selfishness.

And all wealthy people are NOT selfish - there are a handful of highly successful, wealthy individuals in my city who are literally keeping my city going with their contributions, taking up the slack for the lack of funds in city coffers. They've financed clinics, shelters, educational facilities, park facilities, and are examples of good citizenship. (And in case you haven't guessed, they're all Democrats.)

[leftstreet]

10. If a selfish thought is had in a not-for-profit system, does anyone hear it?

:beer:

[kwolf68]

11. What?

The rich ABSOLUTELY know what to do with that extra wealth they are afforded.

THEY USE IT TO MAKE EVEN MORE.

A progressive tax system SHOULD be mandatory....hell, we had a 90% tax rate on the rich in the 50s and 60s...somehow our country created the most prosperous nation on earth with those 'communist' tax policies.

And that tax rate DID NOT stop people from wanting to be rich. Hell, my wife and I can't wait until we're in a tax bracket where we pay more....WHY?

Because

A) It means WE are making more for college for the kids
B) More money allows you to enjoy MORE of the spoils this nation and world have to offer.

If I was rich it's the least I can to do experience things that less fortunate CANT experience.

To paraphrases Greg Graffin...

'you are freer than ever to do whatever you want, provided you can pay for it'