Our Ultra-Rich Burden: The Triple Whammy
The intense concentration of wealth and income at the top of the economic ladder creates an enormous dead weight that presses down on society — and everyone in it. That dead weight crushes us three different ways.
One: The enormous rewards that flow to the summits of Corporate America and Wall Street create incentives for economic behaviors that make life miserable for average Americans.
The more wealth concentrates . . .
. . . the less job security for workers.
. . . the less leisure time for average Americans.
. . . the more workaholism in our workplaces.
. . . the more stressful the work environment.
. . . the less the retirement security.
. . . the higher credit card interest rates go.
. . . the worse customer service.
. . . the less available home insurance gets.
. . . the fewer good character actors.
. . . the less comfortable airplane travel.
. . . the less cool our society’s high-tech.
. . . the less pleasure that sports fans take from watching sports.
Two: The presence of extremely wealthy people in our midst unleashes social dynamics that frustrate the hopes and dreams of average Americans and aggravate the stresses of everyday life.
The more wealth concentrates . . .
. . . the longer Americans spend commuting to work.
. . . the less accessible art museums become.
. . . the harder to find a parking space.
. . . the shorter the life-expectancy, for everybody.
. . . the more stressful applying for and attending college becomes.
. . . the more overpriced our housing.
. . . the noisier our neighborhoods.
. . . the less compassionate our communities.
. . . the less inviting the great outdoors.
. . . the more coins that toll booths demand.
. . . the wider our waistbands.
. . . the less the sum total of our happiness.
Three: The political power of the extremely wealthy undermines society’s capacity to overcome modern life’s core problems and challenges.
The more wealth concentrates . . .
. . . the more corruption in the political process.
. . . the less robust a nation’s free press.
. . . the less attractive the helping professions become.
. . . the more resources squandered on guarding wealth..
. . . the harder to confront entrenched special interests.
. . . the less public interest in politics.
. . . the lower the voter turnout in elections.
. . . the less likely politics will seek solutions outside the box.
. . . the more frayed the social fabric.
source:
http://extremeinequality.org/?page_id=9
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