Tom Suozzi

The focus on income inequality sharpens

Posted

I guess we all expected Pope Francis to touch on issues of income inequality. And it’s no surprise that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio focuses on the same issues, as does presidential candidate, Vermont senator and admitted Socialist Bernie Sanders. It was surprising, however, when Donald Trump agreed with the Occupy Wall Street protesters, calling last week for the repeal of the carried-interest law that benefits hedge fund owners.

Many were surprised when Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has often sided with the Republican State Senate on economic issues, became the pre-eminent champion of the $15 minimum wage. And Hillary Clinton is once again moving away from the center and more to the left on income-inequality issues. What’s going on?

First, income inequality is a real issue. Many hardworking people who go to work every day and play by the rules are finding it impossible to move up from working poor to middle class. While the U.S. economy is the strongest in the world and, despite some recent jitters, investors in stocks and bonds are doing quite well, the majority of Americans are insecure about their economic future.

Second, the two greatest systems in the world — capitalism and democracy — are juxtaposed to address this income-equality crisis. Capitalism brings out the best in the economy, and often people, by rewarding the hardest-working, the smartest and the strongest. But sometimes some of those hardest-working, smartest and strongest forget about everyone else.

Sometimes, in the interest of maximizing profit, workers’ wages don’t keep up, the environment gets polluted, and safety is ignored. That’s when the other best system in the world, democracy, kicks in. When a large portion of the voters focus on insufficient wages or pollution or other issues that affect them, they demand change.

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