Stiglitz makes three important observations about the economic realities we are experiencing today:<\/p>\n
First, growing inequality translates into shrinking opportunity, and when opportunity declines we are not using the most important asset we have\u2014the people of this country.<\/p>\n
Second, preferential tax treatment for corporations and wealthy individuals has undermined the economy. And as Stiglitz points out, the existence of income inequality and lack of opportunity further distorts the economy. For example, talented college graduates, lured by lucrative salaries and bonuses, have gone into finance rather than into other fields that would lead to a more productive, and balanced economy.<\/p>\n
Stiglitz\u2019s third point, and I think most important, is that we have lost our sense of the common good. A modern economy requires \u201ccollective action, \u201d that is, we need the government (working with a healthy and fair tax base) to invest in infrastructure, education, and technology for the good of the country as a whole. But America has long suffered from an under-investment in infrastructure. Our highways, bridges, railroads, airports are in bad shape. And even though basic research and education are suffering, our elected officials’ response (in service of the 1% who do not want to pay a fair share in taxes) is to plan further cutbacks.<\/p>\n
The more divided a society becomes in terms of wealth, the more reluctant the wealthy become to spend money on common needs. The rich don\u2019t need to rely on government for parks or education or medical care or personal security\u2014they can buy all these things for themselves. In the process, they become more distant from ordinary people, losing whatever empathy they may once have had. They also worry about strong government\u2014one that could use its powers to adjust the balance, take some of their wealth, and invest it for the common good. The top 1 percent may complain about the kind of government we have in America, but in truth they like it just fine: too gridlocked to re-distribute, too divided to do anything but lower taxes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In closing, Stiglitz quotes Alexis de Tocqueville who held that \u201cthe welfare of all is a precondition for one\u2019s own wellbeing.\u201d That sentiment, of course, is not held by the top 1%, nor, I would argue, by the majority of Americans, who continue to embrace the “winner take all” mentality and the false notion of the \u201cself made man.\u201d<\/p>\n
I would argue that if America is to return to being a place of hope and opportunity, then we Americans will have to embrace a different value system\u2014one that is invested in the good of all, rather than wealth creation for the top 1%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the current issue of Vanity Fair, Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, paints\u00a0a picture of the United States that we may not recognize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,45,128,47,946],"tags":[970,580],"yoast_head":"\n
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